Issho Ni Tsuyoku
by Naruto'sStudent321
Summary: Naruto hasn't had a very good life. The people of his village hate him, overprice his goods, and beat him. But he never let that stop him. He kept going even with the hatred. Because he loved his village and when he becomes Hokage, nothing like his life will ever happen to a child again.
1. Growing Arc I

"Team 7 will consist of Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Ino Yamanaka. Your sensei will be Kakashi Hatake"

A scream filled the room. Everyone looked back to see the dead last, Naruto Uzumaki scrunching up his face.

Said ninja had blond, spiky hair and blue eyes. Naruto also wore an orange and blue jacket with a white collar, a white swirl with a tassel on the left side, and a red Uzumaki crest on the back. He also wore orange pants with a shuriken holster on his right knee, blue sandals, and a blue forehead protector, given to him by Iruka, a teacher, after graduating from the Academy.

"How could I have been paired with the Uchiha!" Exclaimed Naruto." He's a jerk who can suck my left nut!"

Sasuke Uchiha is one of the last surviving members of Konohagakure's Uchiha Clan. After his older brother, Itachi, slaughtered his clan, Sasuke made it his mission in life to avenge them by killing Itachi. He had black eyes and spiky black hair with a blue tint. Sasuke's hair has hung over his face ever since he was a child to hide his face from people. Everyone in the village considered him to be a prodigy and it annoyed Naruto to no end.

He also wore a navy blue, short-sleeved shirt with a high collar, white shorts, and white arm warmers. 

"Naruto watch your mouth! The Hokage picked the teams himself and you will respect his decisions! You are a ninja now and ninja don't shout and scream their emotions! Are we clear!" said the pineapple-haired Iruka.

"Fine, but just so you know I'm gonna be Hokage and I'm gonna be the strongest!"

 **-3 hours later**

"Ugh, why did I have to be paired with you Naruto," said Ino."You're loud, obnoxious and you don't care about anyone other than yourself." Ino has fair skin, blue eyes and long platinum blonde hair worn in a ponytail, with bangs framing the right side of her face. Ino wore a purple outfit consisting of a high-collared blouse and matching apron skirt.

"Shut up Ino. Our sensei is late and all you do is complain. You're giving me a headache." said the Uchiha.

"Oh sorry Sasuke-kun, I'll be quiet."

Naruto ignored his new "teammates". He was setting up a trap for his sensei who didn't bother to show up on time for something as important as this. Ninja weren't supposed to do this and weren't supposed to do that, well, why can they be late.

His bucket of mustard was on top of the sliding door. Now, all he had to do was wait.

The door slid open and the bucket of mustard started to fall. However, the person who opened the door caught the bucket from the bottom.

"Traps, really? I was only late because of a black cat that passed in front of me so I went the long way," said Kakashi. He had spiky silver hair oriented to his left-side, dark grey eyes, and a relaxed, heavy-lidded expression. His headband was covering his left eye and he wore a face mask that covered everything other than his right eye.

He also wore dark blue pants and a long-sleeve shirt. He also wore fingerless gloves with metal plates on the backhand and traditional Shinobi sandals on his feet. 

"Your a liar!" Exclaimed Naruto. "Yeah don't lie to us!" Ino joined in.

"Anyway meet me on the top of the building. Now"

After those last words, Kakashi made a hand sign and smoke emitted from him. When it dissipated, Kakashi was gone.

Naruto was puzzled. Why was there Jonin-sensei so laid-back. From what Iruka-sensei told him, Jonin were the some of the strongest in the village. Third only to Anbu and the Hokage.

"Naruto we got to go," said Ino."We don't want to be late like him". Naruto snapped out of his trance and made his way to the top of the academy with Ino.

Once they reached the top, Kakashi was there, leaning against the rail, reading a book. Sasuke was sitting on a set of stairs. Naruto and Ino sat down next to Sasuke and Kakashi slammed his book shut.

"Alright, time for introductions. To start you will say your name, likes and dislikes, dreams, and hobbies. Go" explained Kakashi.

"How about you start us off with your introduction first sensei. After all, you're gonna lead us," said Ino. Kakashi, who started to pull out his book again, looked at her with pleading. It looked like he wasn't gonna even listen to their introductions.

"Fine. My name is Kakashi Hatake. I don't want to tell you what I like or not. My dreams are... and I don't feel like telling you my hobbies."

The three Genin deadpanned. They all thought the same thing. " _He only told us his name_ "

"Next, the brooding one."

"Hn. My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I like nothing and I dislike someone. I dream to one day kill _him_. My hobby is training." Naruto remembered the Uchiha Massacre and how Sasuke was never the same after it. It was reported that his brother did it so _him_ , must be his brother.

"Next, the purple blond." Ino pouted after hearing her nickname.

"My name is Ino Yamanaka. I like flowers and the color purple. I dislike working too hard. I dream to one day start a family. My hobby is planting flowers."

"Next, the orange blond."

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki! I like the color orange and ramen! I dislike the time it takes for ramen to heat up and when villagers overprice my stuff! I dream to one day become Hokage and change the villagers' feelings towards me! My hobby is training and pulling pranks!"

As Naruto finished, a gloomy feeling took over the area. Kakashi closed his book again and Naruto's teammates looked at him weirdly. Ino with concern and Sasuke with indifference.

"Naru-" Ino was cut off by Kakashi who insisted they would talk about it later.

"Alright, you guys can go home. Rest up, because tomorrow is a big day.". Naruto was confused again.

"Tomorrow is the real Genin exam"


	2. Growing Arc II

He sucked.

Naruto truly sucked. For he knew, not ten, but three jutsu's.

In the academy, he would boast and go on and on about how awesome he was. That was far from the truth. Deep down, he thought he was worthless. Only the Hokage loved him. His classmates thought he was weak and obnoxious.

Just when he thought he couldn't be any worse, Kakashi confronted him about his abilities after the introduction meeting.

"I've realized that you didn't have the best of lives. However, please tell me you know more than three techniques." Questioned Kakashi.

Naruto didn't know how to explain it to him. Surely, his Kage Bunhin would make up for him knowing only three techniques, Right?

"It's true I only know three jutsu's but one of them is Kage Bunshin, so that's good right?"

" _So, it's true. The day of graduation, he did steal the Forbidden Scroll. I can't make any risky moves, especially with his low self-esteem. I must take advantage._ " Thought Kakashi. "That's okay, Naruto. Although as a Shinobi, I will not sugarcoat anything. Kage Bunshin is a great Jutsu, but with your repotoire you should have been held back."

Naruto hadn't cried since he was five. He vowed never to cry, to show people that he was strong. Now, however, he felt like he would cry a waterfall. Becoming Hokage was his only dream and the only way to become Hokage was if he became a Shinobi. A strong Shinobi.

"Naruto, you have wonderful potential. Your fighting style is unpredictable and can get you out of sticky situations. However, your slow. That Kage Bunshin jutsu has some secrets that you need to know that would benefit you greatly. With the secrets the Kage Bunshin holds, you may be able to go from below Genin level to High Genin or even Mid-Chunin level."

He didn't suck after all. He needed to use this opportunity to become better.

"Oh, and one last thing thing."

"What is it Kakashi-sensei?"

"Uzumaki Clan" with those last words he vanished once again, smoke emitting from his body.

Naruto's face said it all. Realization took effect.

He slept only two hours that night. The Uzumaki weren't civilians? Now that was a shocker. He came to a decision.

Find out what happened to the Uzumaki Clan.

He slid on his orange jumpsuit and set way for Training Ground 7. The real Genin exam.

When he arrived, Ino and Sasuke were already there, checking themselves and their weapons. He greeted Ino, stuck a finger at Sasuke, then sat down.

Rather than be late this time, Kakashi appeared a few minutes after Naruto.

"Team 7, assemble."

The Genin got up and approached Kakashi. Naruto was first to reach Kakashi, Sasuke was last, staying weary of his surroundings.

"You see these bells on my belt? I want you to get it from me. There are only two, though, so only two of you will pass."

Naruto almost crapped his pants. He was obviously the weakest there, meaning he was the most likely to get sent back to the academy. He had to try his best, for he wouldn't lose.

"There is a time limit. GO"

Both Ino and Sasuke jumped into separate bushes, avoiding being seen. Naruto noticed this and ran as fast as he could into the forest.

" _How am I supposed to do this. He's a Jonin and I barely made Genin, but so are the other two. Which means, we have to work together if we even have a shot at getting those bells._ " Though Naruto. He sprinted towards the direction of Ino because he didn't want to talk to Sasuke alone.

Naruto finally found her focused on Kakashi, who was still in the middle of the field.

"Hey Ino" Naruto whispered. She turned around so quick yelling out "KAI" while holding up a hand sign to cancel out Genjutsu.

"Sorry Ino, I didn't mean to scare you. But, we have to work as a team to beat this guy. Or at least, get the bells. Sasuke might have been rookie of the year, but Kakashi has experience."

Ino looked at him stupidly.

"That's the smartest thing I've ever heard you say. Your right, though," said Ino. Naruto dismissed the comment, as he's received worse comments. Ino and Naruto decided to find Sasuke soon because of that hot head of his, he might charge in at any time.

They had been walking for a few seconds before they heard a voice above them.

"I'm up here" said Sasuke in a tree. Wait a minute, how'd he know they were looking for him. Before Naruto could finish his thoughts, Ino was once again yelled "KAI" and this time it worked. Sasuke disappeared and standing there was Kakashi.

"Hiya" was his words before dodging a huge fireball and jumping off to a tree a few meters away. Sasuke ran up to them, tired, but still in the fight.

"Sasuke,I know we don't get along, but we have to work together as a team to get those bells. I know I won't make it, but you guys will make fine Shinobi. You got to trust us."

Sasuke let out his favorite phrase "Hn" before following Naruto and Ino to a more isolated area within the grounds. Team 7's Genin crouched down, planning a way to get Kakashi.

"So, here's the plan, be free to add when you need to, Ino I want you to…..." Whispered Naruto.

Kakashi, once again stood in the middle of the training grounds, reading his smut. At that moment, he heard a rustling in the leaves. He closed his book and readied himself, grabbing a kunai.

"I was getting to the good part."

After Kakashi's statement, "Naruto" appeared from the bush. " _A Kage Bunshin? Ok, I'll play along._ "

"Naruto you shouldn't be so reckless.I-"

That was when hell broke out.

A fireball sped towards him at his rear. He became jumped up and the Kage Bunshin attacked him. He ended the Kage Bunshin's life before it could land anything.

He landed on the ground and thought it was over.

It was far from over.

About 40 Kage Bunshins charged at him, while kunai from the trees rained down on him.

Kakashi grabbed a Kage Bunshin and used it as a human shield for the kunai. When it dissipated, he felt the other Bunshin's grab him on his arms and legs.

He was trapped.

"Nice try" was what he said before he emitted in smoke. " _Wait, what?_ " Naruto thought.

That was a Kage Bunshin. The timer for the test ringed, signaling the end. Kakashi appeared in the center of the field as the bunshin's disappeared.

"Team 7, assemble" he said. The Genin came out from the trees they were stationed in.

"All of you did your best. My bunshin may not have even 10% of his power, but like that handsome devil said, good try. You worked as a team, that's why you..." Kakashi explained.

Naruto knew he would fail, but because of his plan, they all failed. Not only would he be hated, he would be loathed.

"pass."

Did he just hear that right? They passed, he couldn't believe it.

"I don't want to tell you why you passed. I want you to go home and think about it and next week when we start missions, you will tell me. Everyone but Naruto is dismissed."

When they left, Kakashi gave Naruto a card.

"What is this Kakashi-sensei?"

"It's a library card. Over the next week, you will learn about your clan. Also, there are, Genin scrolls that will help you in your fighting style and Ninjutsu repertoire."

Naruto was about to cry again. Someone else cared for him. Finally.

"Oh, and don't worry, your teammates will be doing things to. You're not that special."


	3. Growing Arc III

Naruto was walking to the library after waking up early. He was so psyched to learn more about his culture, his clan's abilities, and most importantly, his family.

As a child, Naruto learned how to read people's facial expressions. Bad emotions were nothing new to him. So when Naruto saw the librarian, he knew he wasn't going to have an easy time.

"Excuse me miss, could you please direct me towards the clan section"

Asked Naruto. Normally he would act loud and rash around people he knew because that's who he was. When it came to "Naruto haters", however, he needed to act as nice as possible, so they wouldn't insult or beat him.

"You don't have a library card, dem-, I mean boy"

Naruto flashed her his library card, keeping a good grip on it. She gave an act of reluctance by trying to say something but had to direct him to the clan section to avoid creating a scene.

He was they're for hours, trying to find what he can about the Uzumaki clan. Some questions that popped into his head were: Where is the clan estate? What happened to the rest of them?

No books. No articles. Nothing about his family.

Knowledge is power, right? Might as well read up on something else. He remembered Iruka-sensei telling him that the first Hokage was a Senju, part of the two first clans in Konoha. It seemed interesting enough, so he started to read about the Senju.

 _ ***Time Break***_

"WHAT!"

"SHUUUUUUUUUUU"

Naruto couldn't believe it. The Senju were relatives of...

The Uzumaki.

 _"T_ _hrough the years, the Uzumaki and Senju kept close ties, with members at times marrying between clans, as with Hashirama Senju and Mito Uzumaki"_

Now if the Senju were so popular, why weren't the Uzumaki. Other than that piece of information, there was nothing rest of the pages seemed to be ripped out. His family was unknown.

" _Wait, Mito Uzumaki. I can research Mito. This is going to be awesome!_ " Naruto thought.

" _During her husband's battle against Madara Uchiha at the Valley of the End, Hashirama at some point gained control of the nine-tailed fox. To gain power for her husband, Mito used a fūinjutsu to seal the beast within herself, becoming the tailed beast's first jinchūriki._ "

He just remembered. He was a jinchūriki of the nine-tailed fox. He had forgotten about the beast after the old man told him. All this action has surprised Naruto and he hasn't had much time to sit and think over things.

It was exciting to learn more about his clan. It made him feel strong, like he was one of the best Genin. To know that you have the same tailed beast as the first Hokage's wife is awesome! He kept on reading further until he reached the last page.

" _Towards the final years of her life, it was decided that a new host for nine-tailed beast would have to be found. Kushina Uzumaki,"_

After "Kushina Uzumaki" the other pages seemed ripped.

He was upset, to say the least.

How could these people rip out pages? How have they not replaced these books with new ones!?

It was infuriating but he decided to just move on to the Genin section now. After all, he couldn't spend all day on this.

Within the Genin sections, scrolls of different categories were present. Categories included Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Fūinjutsu, and Beginner Kenjutsu.

Kakashi-sensei had told him that his fighting style or Taijutsu was slow, so he headed for the Taijutsu section first. He looked through the scrolls and one of them caught his eye.

"Akuma Haraise"

Next to the name it said, "Unpredictable", that was all he needed, and he was hooked. Naruto put the scroll under his arm, so he could check it out of the library later.

Subsequently, he visited the Ninjutsu to add some cool jutsu's to his repertoire.

By the end of the day, he had about 10 scrolls that he checked out. He set a goal for himself.

To learn at least one jutsu by the end of this week and he knew how he was going to do it.

 **Sorry guys, I don't know how to transition from here, so the next chapter will have more content. Please review and favorite or follow. I love when you love my content, but I also need constructive criticism. Sorry again, next chapter soon.**


	4. Growing Arc IV

Naruto's jutsu scrolls:

 **Chakra Bullet:**

 _The user of this skill fires one or several bullets in a straight line from a chakra launcher. The bullet travels in a straight line, at an incredible rate of speed, but contact with any surface will cause it to deviate from its course, or dissipate, leaving no trace of its existence._

 **Chakra Trick Shot:**

 _The user of this skill fires a slightly denser chakra bullet to ricochet it off one, or more surfaces to hit a target behind cover, or otherwise expecting a bullet from the front. The bullet does not immediately dissipate upon hitting a solid surface but is smaller and slightly weaker than a traditional chakra bullet._

 **Shadow Shuriken Jutsu:**

 _A technique which places a second shuriken in the shadow of a first (thrown) shuriken, confusing the enemy._

 **Akuma Haraise:**

 _The user uses speed and unpredictability to overtake opponents._ _Offinse is the main part of this style, and as such the user will mainly always be attacking, using chakra to give short bursts of speed._ _Rapid repeats of savage attacks are thrown and when opponent doesn't pay attention, speed is used to quickly dispose of them._

 _ ***Can't tell you the rest, sorry***_

"Naruto, your different." was Ino's statement as Naruto walked into the training ground.

It has been a hard-working week for Naruto. He has been developing his skills in everything necessary for a Genin. He knew he had to be stronger now.

Along with the scrolls for ninja, he had been reading up on the nine-tailed fox and the history of Konoha. Naruto has noticed he has become more mature over the week due to the influx of emotions that have shaped him.

Not only had he succeeded his goal, he was able to start his Taijutsu training as well. He was able to get down **Chakra Bullet,** but the rest was hard. By day four, he realized he needed to start doing his physical training. Although results weren't apparent yet, if he kept this up, he was going to be a force to wreck-in with.

One thing that he learned from working with explosive jutsu, however, was that clothes weren't safe.

On the third day, his clothes were torn and battered in lots of places. So as a good individual, he went to buy new clothes. He still wore the regular orange pants but this time he wore a small, red, sleeveless haori over a black tank top. He also wore fingerless gloves that had a "Uzumaki Swirl" on the fist side.

Naruto was proud of himself. His self-confidence took a boost. He felt like he could take on any mission Kakashi gave him.

That was before he heard about D-rank missions.

"Jiji, why do we have to scoop up dog poop!" Screamed Naruto. Kakashi had picked them up a few hours after Naruto arrived. The team went straight to the mission hub, or the Sandaime's office. Iruka was also present in the office.

Naruto knew about Ninja ranks, so when Kakashi asked Iruka for a "D-rank", he almost blew up.

"Naruto, Genin is doing this. These missions are to show to the villagers that the ninja aren't hostile. If you want to become Hokage, then you need to have proper approval of your villagers as a person and a ninja." Explained the Sandaime. His skin is light, his hair is grey, his face is gaunter, and he has the wrinkles and liver spots of old age. He wore the customary hat and haori of a Hokage, with a red, full-length kimono that is tied with a white sash.

Naruto crossed his arms and walked out with his team in pursuit.

 **-1 Week Later-**

This week was tougher than Naruto thought it would be. He had no free time anymore, mostly spending time with his teammates doing team training exercises or going home and working on his scrolls.

Right now, Team 7 was called for a team meeting at the training grounds. As usual, Kakashi was late.

From reading about the Hashirama and Tobirama Senju, Naruto has embraced the idea of teammates. They were the only people who have seen his abilities in action. So, whenever Kakashi was late, he spoke to them.

"Hey guys, did Kakashi give you guys scrolls to work on?"

Ino was the first to answer saying "He gave me three scrolls, all containing Taijutsu and Genjutsu techniques."

Sasuke just said "Hn" and you know what, Naruto was tired of it. Sasuke was so isolated and he never did anything to socialized. When they did missions, he would get the job done and then wouldn't say anything after being comlimented for a good job.

Naruto grabbed Sasuke by his collar and lifted him up from the ground. Ino was about to say something before Naruto started talking.

"Stop sulking Sasuke! That massacre happened six years ago! Its done and there's nothing you can do about it! People only sulk to get attention and whenever you do get attention, you shoot it down! You know how many people would die for a place to eat! There are people who would die for people to like them and you have a freakin fan club that you take for granted! Beautiful girls are just lining up to talk to you and I know you like it! You sick bastard! All you do is get attention then throw it away!"

"At least you didn't have parents to mourn for!" Was what Sasuke said

Tears rolled down both Sasuke and Naruto's faces. Ino looked very concerned for both of her teammates.

" _Am I the only one on this team who hasn't suffered a great tradgedy._ " Ino thought.

Sasuke looked scared. Naruto hadn't seen that face ever and he realized that he mentioned the massacre, so he let Sasuke down to let him cool down.

Just then, Kakashi appeared and walked over to the Genin.

"Team 7, assemble."

Naruto knew that Kakashi knew what had just happened. His right pupil glided over to Naruto's position as he wiped away his tears.

"First off, you're not children. You don't have a choice to do what you want, when you want. When the Hokage speaks to you, you reply. Like I told Naruto, I will not sugarcoat anything. The life of a Shinobi is filled with blood and loss. A secret to getting through is to never get stuck in the moment. So from now on, every day for six days a week, we will be training here after daily D-rank missions. You will not be taking it easy anymore."

Naruto was confused to say the least. Their laid-back sensei was just strict. Now, he wasn't going to lie and say it was better when he was laid-back. When Naruto went home, the scrolls he borrowed only had limited details and a teacher would really help him. His thoughts were cut short when Kakashi spoke once more.

"Right now, we will speak of something important. Naruto's condition. Naruto tell us what you have learned about you and your beast."

Naruto was taken-aback. He looked at his teammates, Ino had a serious expression and Sasuke still had a trace of fear in his face.

"I guess I can. The fourth Hokage didn't defeat the nine-tailed fox. The beast is pure chakra and can regenerate if beaten. So, he sealed it into a baby. Me."

Sasuke was the first to speak, surprisingly.

"That's why the villagers look at you weird. Those stupid villagers don't know the difference between a seal and a kunai."

Naruto looked at Sasuke with a puzzled expression. He could never truly grasp Sasuke's emotions.

"I still want to be friends with you Naruto. Your funny and enthusiastic. Even when we were scooping poop, you lightened the mood." Ino said. She smiled at Naruto. A sincere smile.

"You are dismissed." Was all Kakashi said before poofing away. It was close to evening and Naruto didn't really have anything to do so he asked Ino if she wanted to go to Icharaku Ramen with him.

"Sure"

Naruto didn't expect Sasuke to go but he asked him anyway. "Hn" he said before saying "Lead the way."

He noticed that he was an observer and Naruto realized that Sasuke's making progress. When they were eating ramen, he told Naruto "sorry" and he paid the tab. He just couldn't get this guy.

Naruto was the one who ended up having to bring Ino home. It was nice because Ino glowed at night and it made her seem, well, likeable.

They reached her home and before Naruto could say bye, she quieted him and spoke.

"Thank you, Naruto, you're a true gentleman."

Naruto was about to say something else, but she had already started walking to her door. She turned around for a few seconds and blew Naruto a kiss.

"Bye hunky."

Naruto went to sleep with a nose-bleed.


	5. Growing Arc V

Naruto's jutsu scrolls:

 **Chakra Bullet:**

 _The user of this skill fires one or several bullets in a straight line from a chakra launcher. The bullet travels in a straight line, at an incredible rate of speed, but contact with any surface will cause it to deviate from its course, or dissipate, leaving no trace of its existence._

 **Chakra Trick Shot:**

 _The user of this skill fires a slightly denser chakra bullet to ricochet it off one, or more surfaces to hit a target behind cover, or otherwise expecting a bullet from the front. The bullet does not immediately dissipate upon hitting a solid surface but is smaller and slightly weaker than a traditional chakra bullet._

 **Shadow Shuriken Jutsu:**

 _A technique which places a second shuriken in the shadow of a first (thrown) shuriken, confusing the enemy._

 **Akuma Haraise:**

 _The user uses speed and unpredictability to overtake opponents._ _Offinse is the main part of this style, and as such the user will mainly always be attacking, using chakra to give short bursts of speed._ _Rapid repeats of savage attacks are thrown and when opponent doesn't pay attention, speed is used to quickly dispose of them._

 _ ***Can't tell you the rest, sorry***_

"Team 7, you have been able to complete 18 D-rank missions in the past 3 weeks. Although it isn't the best, I must ask your sensei if you are ready for a C-rank." The Sandaime said.

All 18 of those D-ranked missions were hell. Especially Tora the cat, who was faster, smarter, and uncatchable at times.

However, the training sessions after those missions have been nothing to scoff at. The Genin of Team 7 have been sent home crying, bruised, and battered. Kakashi drilled them into the ground so they could get stronger.

Naruto felt confident that with all the training they had, Kakashi would say yes to a C-rank.

"No"

The Genin deadpanned, thinking the same thing. " _What is wrong with this guy?_ "

"My team isn't ready for a C-rank. Give me another week and we'll be ready."

So, as good Genin, they did another D-rank.

The mood dropped a few notches as the team entered the training grounds for training. No one seemed to be anxious for it.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei, why didn't we get a C-rank. We did all that training and we still don't go up a rank?" Naruto said blatantly. Ino balled her fists, ready to sock Naruto in the head.

" _Why would you ask him that, He's the sensei, he knows when we're ready or not_ "

Ino thought. Kakashi knew what he was doing, that was for sure.

"OH YEAH, I didn't tell you guys. You are ready for a C-rank, I just didn't want to take one yet. You see, your abilities are no doubt amazing. However, you aren't mature yet. Naruto still asks blatant questions, Ino can't control her anger sometimes, and Sasuke doesn't show enough emotion. If you want a C-rank, then mature, simple." Said Kakashi. Maturity for a Shinobi was very important. Once you get that first kill, if you're not mentally ready, then you'll crumble away into despair.

" _I need this C-rank. WE need this C-rank._ " Naruto thought.

His teammates haven't been so bad. Ino was friendly to him and laughed at his jokes. She also like to tease him and sometimes even Sasuke would smile at her teasing, just a little. Sasuke was an enigma, choosing to hang around his teammates when he wanted to.

"Today, you will all show me the progress you have made from your training. Every jutsu that you know shall be used in this showcase. What showcase you may ask? Well, some people call it a spar."

Naruto almost jumped out of sitting position. He was going to be able to show everyone that he wasn't the dead last that they thought he was.

"Ino, Sasuke, your first"

Ino glanced at Sasuke for a few seconds, her emotions driving her crazy. " _He's gonna destroy me, but I still won't back down!_ "

Sasuke and Ino faced each other on separate sides of the field. Neither was ready to submit.

"BEGIN!" Kakashi yelled from the side.

 _CLANG!_

The sound of metal hitting metal filled the field as the two Genin clashed, kunai to kunai. The battle of metal ended as Sasuke took the advantage.

Ino flipped back a few meters to keep a distance. " _He's good at Taijutsu and Ninjutsu. If I keep my distance, then he will just fire a fireball at me. If I get in close, then he'll pummel me to the ground with his strength, which means I have to outsmart him._ "

Sasuke made the first move, throwing his kunai and running towards Ino. She easily deflected the kunai with her own and blocked Sasuke's punch.

However, the power behind the punch wavered her stance and left her open. Sasuke took his shot, landing a roundhouse kick to her rib.

Ino dropped down to the ground in a crouching position, nursing her rib with her hand. She attempted a sweep kick, but Sasuke jumped up and threw two blunt kunai at her. Ino threw her own, canceling out the other two.

Sasuke jumped back and ran through a series of hand seals. Ino's eyes widened and she almost fainted.

 _Katon:_ _Kaen dangan!_

A flame bullet soared towards her, ready to sear away all the flesh on her body. She closed her eyes, waiting for the pain to overcome her. However, the sound of water hitting fire could be heard. She opened her eyes and saw heavy mist in her vision.

"Ino, the fight is over."

Ino turned towards her Jonin-sensei as he gestured for her to get up. He must have used a water jutsu to cancel out Sasuke's fire. After all, he does have over one-thousand jutsus. She walked over to Naruto, disappointment ridden all over her face.

Kakashi turned to face his students. His strict face expression kind of creeping out the Genin. That right eye was terrifying.

"30-minute interval. The next battle will be between Naruto and Sasuke."

During those 30 minutes, Naruto thought about a lot of things. Mainly ramen. He glanced over to Sasuke a few times, hoping that when they fought he was still kind of winded.

" _That jutsu took a little bit out of me but the dobe won't notice anything. I've still got that jutsu in my arsenal that he hasn't seen yet. I still can't underestimate him, though._ " Sasuke thought.

Opposite from each other, Naruto and Sasuke held very fierce looks. Naruto with a scowl on his face and Sasuke with a focused expression.

"BEGIN"

Sasuke took the initiative, throwing a kunai towards Naruto. Said blonde parried with his own and ran to Sasuke. This is where a fierce Taijutsu battle began.

The raven-haired prodigy threw a kick at Naruto, only to have it caught. Naruto grappled onto Sasuke's leg, trying to throw him. Instead of waiting to hit the ground, Sasuke used his strength and agility to break free of Naruto's grip and kick him in the chin.

Once again, Sasuke jumped back and flowed through hand seals. Naruto saw this, even though albeit winded, and ran through his own hand seals.

 _Katon: Kaen dangan!_

 _Chakra dangan!_

The flame bullet from before soared towards Naruto but this time, a blue bullet countered it. The two attacks collided sending smoke throughout the area. Both Genin stood there waiting for the other to make a move.

" _There evenly matched, it seems, but one has to be stronger. I mean, Sasuke has been stronger than Naruto and has been training his whole life. Naruto on the other hand, has only started training seriously a few weeks ago._ " Ino thought on the sidelines. Glancing towards Kakashi, he was as stoic as a ninja could be. That was the face of a teacher analyzing his students.

The smoke cleared, and Naruto attacked first. He started to throw several savage punches and kicks that all went different directions. When a fist to the face is blocked, another punch soon after would replace it at his stomach.

" _I got this, he won't be able to counter my Akuma Haraise!_ "

Sasuke looked very distressed. Not only were the punches strong, but they were fast. When a punch landed, he couldn't hesitate for a second as a kick would follow soon after.

" _The dobe is fast, Kami what happened?!_ "

Naruto threw a punch that was caught and Sasuke finally took this as an opening. He gave Naruto an uppercut to his chin and flipped back a couple of feet away.

Sweat rolled down the Genin's faces. Both were breathing hard and bruises covered their bodies. Sasuke took the motion of trying to run to Naruto before Kakashi intervened.

"The spar is over. Good job, everyone!"

The Genin almost fell over. " _What happened to him being serious!_ "

The team sat down in the middle of the field, ready to hear Kakashi's evaluations.

"First off, Ino, you were doing great the first few seconds of the fight. You kept being aggressive even though you were in a tough spot. However, you froze up and allowed Sasuke to fire a jutsu. In real fight, you would have lost your life."

" _I know, I know. I need to train more, I need jutsus that attack other people. I need to get stronger!_ "

"Sasuke you did great overall. When you were in a tough spot, you created isolation for yourself to fire off jutsus. Although that won't work with ninjas above Chunin level, good effort nonetheless. You've got good Taijutsu skill, don't get me wrong, but your reaction time is too slow. The punches Naruto threw at you were a little bit above average at best."

" _Danm it! The dobe is catching up to me. I couldn't even fire off my secret jutsu due to his fast close-up Taijutsu. I need to get stronger!_ "

"And finally, Naruto. You proved to us that you aren't the academy student who failed multiple times. Now we see that you are faster and a great decision maker. You've also added a jutsu to your repertoire, which is great. Nevertheless, your Taijutsu style had holes. For example, Sasuke caught a punch of yours and you stopped fighting for a second. Sasuke took that second and annihilated your defense."

" _My fighting style has holes!? I need to fix that fast. I need to master more jutsu. I need to get stronger!_ "

"As you see, you all have your ups and downs, but at the end of the day you are fine Shinobi. For the next week, we'll be canceling all D-rank missions. Training will be all day straight for 6 days. The seventh day will consist of meditation and reading. Now who's ready to get stronger!"

The Genin looked at each other, faces filled with determination.

"WE ARE KAKASHI-SENSEI!"


	6. Growing Arc VI

Naruto's jutsu scrolls:

 **Chakra Bullet:**

 _The user of this skill fires one or several bullets in a straight line from a chakra launcher. The bullet travels in a straight line, at an incredible rate of speed, but contact with any surface will cause it to deviate from its course, or dissipate, leaving no trace of its existence._

 **Chakra Trick Shot:**

 _The user of this skill fires a slightly denser chakra bullet to ricochet it off one, or more surfaces to hit a target behind cover, or otherwise expecting a bullet from the front. The bullet does not immediately dissipate upon hitting a solid surface but is smaller and slightly weaker than a traditional chakra bullet._

 **Shadow Shuriken Jutsu:**

 _A technique which places a second shuriken in the shadow of a first (thrown) shuriken, confusing the enemy._

 **Akuma Haraise:**

 _The user uses speed and unpredictability to overtake opponents. Offinse is the main part of this style, and as such the user will mainly always be attacking, using chakra to give short bursts of speed. Rapid repeats of savage attacks are thrown and when opponent doesn't pay attention, speed is used to quickly dispose of them.(_ Like boxing)

 **Futon: Kyouzuu no Jutsu(Gale Surge)** :

 _A defensive jutsu at best. The user distils the air around him or her with his or her chakra and at the exact moment of attack releases a large burst of air. The blast of wind goes out three feet and knocks a victim back at least five feet and can stop projectiles. It is a defensive move that is usually used when the user is caught off guard. The wind can only be released in one direction._

 _ ***Can't tell you the rest, sorry***_

"Our first C-rank!" Yelled Naruto as Team 7 stood in front of the gates of Konoha.

Training felt like the deep depths of hell. He and his team spent countless hours perfecting new and old techniques, mainly elemental jutsu, and Taijutsu. They were strong before, but now, they felt like real Shinobi.

Ino now had subpar Taijutsu. She still couldn't match up with Sasuke, but could last a couple of seconds. Her Ninjutsu arsenal took a hit as well. Over the week she was able to get down the 2 suiton jutsus that Kakashi had given to her. She was able to perform _Suiton:_ _Suidan no Jutsu, Suiton: Mizo Tate no Jutsu_ along with her clan techniques _Shintenshin no Jutsu and Shindenshin no Jutsu_.

Sasuke was only really able to learn Ninjutsu since his Taijutsu was already above average. Kakashi had him work on his defense, though. He was able to learn one more jutsu in the week and that was _Katon: Houka Hira no Jutsu_. Altogether he had _Katon: Endan, Katon: G_ _ōkakyū no Jutsu,_ _Katon: Houka Hira no Jutsu,_ and a secret jutsu that he wouldn't reveal to anyone.

Last, but not least, Naruto, who had been working on his physical body. The Akuma Haraise needed a lean and agile body type, and Naruto was neither. So, over the week, he has been running laps until he got tired. Of course, that doesn't mean Naruto's been lacking in Ninjutsu, learning _Futon_ : _Kyouzuu no Jutsu,_ in that time as well.(It was one of his jutsu scrolls so don't go review that no one can learn these jutus in a week)

When Kakashi first started teaching them, he introduced them to elemental training, a big reason why they were able to get down the jutsus that they did over the week.

- _Flashback-_

 _"You guys have done the leaf exercise, right?" Questioned Kakashi. Naruto almost didn't catch the question as he was staring at the three pieces of blank paper in their sensei's hand. The Genin had done so back in the academy as one of their lessons. They were supposed to make a leaf stick on their head using chakra only._

 _It was all about chakra control and Naruto sucked at it. It took him a month to actually finish the exercise._

 _"Well the first part of elemental training is similar to the leaf exercise. But first, each of you take one piece of paper. When you do so, I want you to channel your chakra into it."_

 _The Genin looked perplexed. Sasuke just shrugged and channeled his chakra. The paper turned blue for a split second and then ignited and turned to ash. Naruto almost pooped his pants watching the display. Ino and Sasuke looked equally as surprised._

 _"The paper that you are holding, or in Sasuke's case, just holding, is called chakra paper and it will determine your chakra affinity. Your chakra affinity is the most latent element in your chakra. If the paper ignites then your affinity is fire or Katon, which means, Sasuke, you have the fire affinity. If your paper turns wet or damp, it is water or Suiton. If the paper splits in two, its wind or Futon. If your paper wrinkles, its lightning or Raiton. If the paper turns to dirt and crumbles away, then its earth or Doton."_

 _After hearing this, Naruto quickly channeled chakra into the paper. He watched as the paper split in two, face full of anticipation. "I got wind!"_

 _Ino channeled her own and the paper dampened. "I got water!"._

 _"Heheheheheehe, I finally beat Sasuke at something!" Ino thought in her head_

 _"Now, on to the leaf exercises. Like you were taught in the academy, you will direct all your chakra to the leaf on your forehead. This time, however, you will channel your element into the paper. In order for you to compete the exercise, Naruto, your leaf should cut in half. Sasuke, your leaf should go up in flames and Ino, your leaf should get wet. Let's get to work!"_

 _-End of Flashback-_

Well, Team 7 took this exercise as a challenge. After training with their sensei, they went straight to elemental training. Training for hours upon hours really helped them to get it down.

Although they didn't get the whole leaf to do what they wanted, the training tremendously helped their jutsu training. They were able to grasp the jutsu easier and it made learning the jutsus faster to learn.

"Naruto you shouldn't scream like that, you make us seem unprofessional." Said Ino. "Yeah Naruto, shut up." Sasuke joined in. Their mission was to protect a bridge builder named Tazuna as he made his way back to the "Land of Waves"

Kakashi said it would be an easy enough mission, as C-ranks only prohibit weak bandits and some muggers. Nothing they couldn't handle as ninjas.

Naruto hung his head low as they started walking. "Man, you guys are so mean to me."

 _-Timeskip-_

They had been walking for a few hours now and Naruto was getting bored. Nothing had shown up and he was itching for a fight.

A puddle, he spotted a puddle. In the middle of summer.

He saw Kakashi glance at the puddle and Sasuke reached at his kunai pouch. Ino held up the starting hand sign for _Suiton:_ _Suidan no Jutsu_.

 _SPLASH!_

Out came from the puddle were two ninjas with huge gauntlets. They attacked, wrapping their gauntlets around Kakashi. He exploded in what seemed to be blood, leaving the Genin to fend for themselves.

"Give us the bridge buil-"

 _Katon: Endan! (_ Fire Release: Flame Bullet)

Sasuke was immediately on the attack, letting out his most basic jutsu. The two shinobi, however, separated, leaving the flame to hit the ground and disperse. Sasuke ran to the one on the right, leaving Naruto and Ino to fight the left one.

 _"Damn these kids are good. Wait, didn't the strongest one just die!_ " Tazuna thought. He was much too drunk to care about whether he lived or not right now.

"Who are you!?" Barked Naruto."Meizu" he said before throwing his gauntlet at Naruto. Said blonde ducked and ran straight for the shinobi. Now that he had a good look at him, his forehead protector had a slash through it. " _A missing nin! This is going to be fun!_ "

Naruto finally got to Meizu and threw two fast punches to his lower body. The attacks hit their mark, Meizu left out of breath. The Uzumaki continued his onslaught of attacks, knocking the missing nin back a few feet with a kick to the face.

 _Futon: Kyouzuu no Jutsu! (_ Wind Release: Gale Surge)

Sasuke was holding up well on his side of the fight, keeping up with the other half named Gōzu. He mainly used Taijutsu and some Ninjutsu to keep his distance from the gauntlet.

Gōzu swung his weapon at Sasuke, and the raven-haired prodigy fired his _Katon: G_ _ōkakyū no Jutsu_ towards the weapon. The gauntlet burned and Gōzu immediately dropped his weapon. This gave Sasuke the chance to give the ninja a hard kick to the face.

Needless to say, Gōzu was out in seconds.

Meizu was only pushed back by Naruto's jutsu a few feet. " _Damn, this guy's resilient. Wait, where'd I learn that word."_

 _Suiton:_ _Suidan no Jutsu!(_ Water Release: Water Bullet)

The water sped towards Meizu at a fast speed.

 _Suiton: Mizo Peretto no Jutsu!(_ Water Release: Water Pellet)

Appearantly, Meizu has a water affinity because he used the water from Ino's jutsu to fire off his own, faster, bullet of water towards Ino.

 _Chakura Dangan!_ (Chakra Bullet)

The torrent of pure chakra collided with the water pellet, causing water the water to disperse. Naruto ran to the missing nin, charging up a punch. His punch landed on Maizu's face, sending Meizu up a few inches into the air.

" _FINISH HIM!"_ Naruto thought. He performed a combo, kicking Meizu back to the ground, then using _Futon: Kyouzuu no Jutsu_ , to knock him out.

"I'm awesome as always!" Naruto exclaimed. Ino didn't seem very happy, Naruto guessed that she was unsatisfied with her performance.

"Hey, it's okay Ino. You may not have made very good decisions in this battle but me and Sasuke know your strong. If it weren't for you, I would probably be a louder brat than I am. All you need to do is work harder."

Ino seemed to brighten up after Naruto's comment. " _I need to work harder. I might hate the work but to survive and do well, I need to work hard._ "

Sasuke had joined them a few seconds after tying up Gōzu. They tied up Meizu and Naruto was about to give Ino a suggestion before Sasuke intervened. "Wait Naruto, Kakashi-sensei, you can come out now."

Out from a bush behind them, came out the white haired Jonin. "That bush was uncomfortable. You guys did well but next time, Ino, do something productive."

Ino looked stunned when Kakashi finished his sentence. Not only had her sensei said she was bad, but she knew she did bad.

Naruto was a whole different story.

"How could you say that to Ino! She tried her best and that was enough for me. She distracted Meizu, so I could go in for the finishing blows. Ino is one of the hardest workers out of all of us. If she only liked hard work, Ino would probably be better than me. Next time sen-"

"Naruto shut the hell up. I'm the sensei and she did terrible. Shinobi don't freeze up like that. If I play nice with Ino than she might think that she'll do better next time. Now if I'm mean, then my words will stick to her to push her to become better. You hear me, student!"

Naruto hung his head low. "Yes sensei."

"Ino use your clan jutsu to interrogate the missing ninja." Kakashi instructed. Ino did as she was told, forming an oval shape with her hands facing Meizu.

 _Shintenshin no Jutsu!_

Ino's body went limp, hitting the floor harshly. Meizu began to stir and opened his eyes.

"It's me Ino, you can untie me." Said "Meizu"

"What's Ino's favorite color." Naruto asked. Better to be safe than sorry.

"Purple."

They untied "Meizu" and Ino shaped the oval form, this time directing at her limp body on the ground. Meizu's body fell to the ground harsher than Ino's had as his body was sent head first onto the ground. " _She probably did that on purpose."_ Naruto jokingly thought.

Ino woke up and dusted herself off. She looked very mad for some reason.

"Can't believe no one picked up my body from the ground. Anyway, those are the Demon Brothers, missing ninja from Kiri. They were sent by a man named Gato to kill Tazuna. It seems that Gato didn't want the bridge from the land of waves to connect to the main lands because it would ruin his business."

Kakashi looked very serious now. He looked at Tazuna and walked up to him very slowly.

"You have ten seconds to tell me what's going on."

"I'm afraid for my life okay! Me and my family are poor and we barely paid for this C-rank mission. Under the requirements, this would be a B-rank but that cost me a fortune. Please don't hurt meeeeeeeeee!"

" _He's still drunk_ " thought Team 7 simultaneously.

"I could bring you back to the leaf and send you back on your way to Wave without protection. But where's the fun I that, so I'm going to ask my sweet little Genin what they want to do."

He turned around to look at his Genin and saw their adamant faces. He already knew what the answer was.

"On to Wave we go!"


	7. Establishing Arc I

Naruto's jutsu scrolls:

 **Chakra Bullet:**

 _The user of this skill fires one or several bullets in a straight line from a chakra launcher. The bullet travels in a straight line, at an incredible rate of speed, but contact with any surface will cause it to deviate from its course, or dissipate, leaving no trace of its existence._

 **Chakra Trick Shot:**

 _The user of this skill fires a slightly denser chakra bullet to ricochet it off one, or more surfaces to hit a target behind cover, or otherwise expecting a bullet from the front. The bullet does not immediately dissipate upon hitting a solid surface but is smaller and slightly weaker than a traditional chakra bullet._

 **Shadow Shuriken Jutsu:**

 _A technique which places a second shuriken in the shadow of a first (thrown) shuriken, confusing the enemy._

 **Akuma Haraise:**

 _The user uses speed and unpredictability to overtake opponents. Offinse is the main part of this style, and as such the user will mainly always be attacking, using chakra to give short bursts of speed. Rapid repeats of savage attacks are thrown and when opponent doesn't pay attention, speed is used to quickly dispose of them.(_ Like boxing)

 **Futon: Kyouzuu no Jutsu(Gale Surge)** :

 _A defensive jutsu at best. The user distils the air around him or her with his or her chakra and at the exact moment of attack releases a large burst of air. The blast of wind goes out three feet and knocks a victim back at least five feet and can stop projectiles. It is a defensive move that is usually used when the user is caught off guard. The wind can only be released in one direction._

Team 7 was now in the Land of Waves, now just gotten off a boat. Mist covered most of the land, the only thing visible was a village a few miles ahead.

"Hey a rabbit." Naruto said out of the blue.

"Get Down!" Kakashi yelped.

A huge cleaver missed Team 7 by a mere inch, diving over them and buried in the ground behind them. Naruto quickly summoned two clones and Sasuke took out a kunai. Ino stood her ground, covering Tazuna.

" _Kubikiribocho, Zabuza Momochi. Gato must really want this bridge to not be built. He's got a lot of money hiring an A-rank missing nin, this is gonna be tough._ " Kakashi thought. He needed to get his Genin ready for whatever. The bridge builder had better pay them extra for what was about to transpire.

"Triangle Formation! Protect Tazuna!" Kakashi yelled, pulling up his headband to reveal his Sharingan eye. " _The Sharingan! How come he never told me he had one! How come he never told us._ " Sasuke contemplated. This must be an important fight. Sasuke took the point of the triangle, Naruto on the right of Tazuna, and Ino on the left.

Zabuza Momochi sighed. He knew this was going to be a tough fight, but Genin? Seriously, he might have to try for this fight. Kakashi no Sharingan plus three brats- Gato had better pay him extra for this crap.

Kakashi was immediately on the attack, thrusting his kunai in the direction of Zabuza's heart. Zabuza didn't take this lightly and punched Kakashi's wielding arm, making the leaf Jonin lose his focus, missing Zabuza's heart entirely but able to cut his side.

XxX

Naruto was scared. He wasn't supposed to be scared. Shinobi aren't supposed to be scared but what if they were attacked? How would he handle it? His thoughts were ended when he heard the loud cracking of bone. He turned his attention back to the fight, where Kakashi seemed to have the nin pinned down.

"You're not getting away from me, Momochi!"

Zabuza, who was struggling to keep Kakashi's kunai away from his face, was stabbed violently in the chest. However, he dissolved into a puddle of water. Kakashi quickly turned around to see Zabuza whirling through hand seals. Using his Sharingan, he followed through the same hands seals.

 _Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!_

 _Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!_

The two identical attacks canceled out each other, sending a wave of water rushing throughout the clearing. Both Shinobi were blown back by the rush of water, causing Kakashi and Zabuza to land their battle in the water.

Zabuza had to hold back a smirk.

Out of the blue, a water clone of Zabuza's jumped out from behind Kakashi, placing its hand on top of Kakashi's head. A dome of water formed around Kakashi causing him to crouch down and Zabuza to burst out in a hysterical laugh.

"Now, I can kill the bridge builder and the Genin and get my pay. Kami, I thought I was gonna have to try harder!" Zabuza was able to muster out between wheezes of laughter.

XxX

Naruto was scared still. He didn't know what to do. Kakashi was trapped and Zabuza was making his way over to their location. He'd have to use all the things in his arsenal for this even if it meant risking his life.

He quickly summoned two Kage Bunshin and took out two kunai. Naruto looked back to see Sasuke with the starting hand sign for his _Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu._ Ino seemed to just be willing to protect Tazuna, not to fight an A-rank missing nin.

His thoughts were cut short when Zabuza's huge cleaver almost took his neck off, missing by only a few inches. Naruto was quick to get into combat, throwing a kunai then ordered his Kage Bunshin to keep Zabuza busy.

Sasuke didn't let up either, helping the Kage Bunshin by engaging in a Taijutsu battle with Zabuza. That only left Naruto with an option to stay with Ino or help Kakashi which is very risky.

"Ino come with me!" Naruto exlaimed. Ino was about to retort but Naruto beat her to it. "I know what your gonna say but I have a plan."

XxX

The raven-haired avenger didn't seem to be doing well. Bruises and cuts covered his body and Sasuke looked to be tired out.

The Kage Bunshin's had already dispelled but he and the bunshin were able to get two clean hits on Zabuza. That didn't slow him down, however. Taijutsu didn't work out because whenever he got close Zabuza would get really close to smacking his head in with his huge damn sword. His Ninjustu was the only thing keeping him alive. Barely.

 _Katon: Endan!_

The torrent of flame made its way to Zabuza, flaring its hot body. (No homo) Zabuza dodged with an agile style, using his sword as a pole vault to leap into the air.

 _Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu!_ (Water Style: Hiding in Mist)

He wove through hand signs while in midair, only to disappear in the mist that grew thicker.

Sairento Kiringu!(Silent Killing)

" _Shit Shit Shit Shit!_ " Sasuke panicked in his thoughts. This guy is really trying to kill him!

XxX

Ino and Naruto had reached the water bunshin that held Kakashi imprisoned.

"Give us back our sensei, you freaking Dick-sukcer!" Naruto barked. "Or else we'll beat your ass!" The bunshin didn't seem rather happy about that remark.

"That's it you wanna die!" The bunshin said, raising the sword over its head. "You know what I don't have to kill you with my sword!" It said before throwing the sword high in the air, keeping one had on the water prison and the other in a hand sign.

 _Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu!_

The overflow of water sped towards Naruto and Ino, hitting them dead on, their bodies flying off and striking a tree with enough force to break a lot of bones. Blood oozed from their heads, eyes open, traces of a lifeless body.

" _Now that those two are dead, time to kill the old man._ " The bunshin thought. He smirked knowing that this gig was as easy as he thought it would be.

Or so he thought before a drop kick made him think otherwise. Naruto's plan worked.

 _Sometimes life doesn't go your way!_

You might have thought Naruto hit the bunshin with a drop kick, but no it was Ino. It quickly dispelled and the water dome ceased to exist, letting Kakashi out.

 _But you got to prevail!_

The two Genin and Jonin made their way to Sasuke who was struggling greatly. Sasuke's head was about to be cut off before Kakashi parried the cleaver with his kunai. Kakashi looked bact to ask Sasuke if he was alright but instead found something that he didn't think would happen so soon.

The Sharingan!

 _Bad times, good times, we never stand down!_

Kakashi didn't waste any time, however, he channeled lightning into his kunai, sending the electricity into Zabuza's sword and through Zabuza. Said missing nin was so shocked(Pun intended) he let go of his sword. Big mistake.

 _Team 7!_

Naruto, Ino, and Sasuke engaged Zabuza in a Taijutsu brawl to slow him down while Kakashi grabbed _Kubikiribocho._

 _Fight! Fight! Let's Go!_

Naruto kicked Zabuza in the chin allowing Sasuke and Ino to perform a mean double stab to the dazed nin's right arm. Zabuza yelled at the top of his lungs and fell onto the ground, giving Kakashi enough time to do what he needed to. He electrified the sword and held it steady.

"Clear it!"

 _Fight till the end! Team 7, Go!_

The Genin took off, away from Zabuza, knowing what their sensei was about to do. However, Naruto and Sasuke joined the side of their Jonin to fire off their own jutsu. Kakashi threw the sword, rotating along the way.

 _Futon_ : _Kyouzuu no Jutsu!_

 _Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!_

The sword and Jutsu's hit the ground near Zabuza, exploding with lightning and fire filling the nearby radius. Sasuke noticed something odd about the explosion but dismissed it as nothing. He saw a shadow jump at a nearby tree but thought it was nothing.(Genin are so lazy and untrustworthy!)

Once the element shower had passed, Zabuza was gone. Literally, no body or anything. Everyone looked around alert, ready for anything to happen. They knew if Zabuza had come back at them again it would be a harder battle, seeing as how they panted in wheezes of pain.

"Shit! We lost him!" Kakashi barked. "At least we know he's alive now and ready to attack at any time. Be on the lookout my sweet little Genin."

" _Seriously, after all that we're still little!_ " The Genin of Team 7 thought. Tazuna had passed out from either all the sake he had or over the adrenaline and fear. Either way, they had to wake him up and get to his home.

 **Hey guys, NS here, and I want to say sorry for the hiatus. Please review, favorite, follow and all that good stuff. Please check out my My Hero Academia story and check out the poll on my profile, I really need the votes. With that, I'm out, Peace!**


	8. Establishing Arc II

_Knock! Knock!_  
 _The door opened to reveal a woman. She had pale skin and dark hair. Behind her was a small boy. At the site of Tazuna, the woman yelped for joy._

"Father! You must be the ninja's, please, come in." She said, stepping to the side.

Team 7 and Tazuna entered the house. Tazuna immediately relaxed and sat down on the couch.

The woman approached the team and introduced herself as Tsunami and the glaring little boy behind her as Inari.

Naruto was the first to ease up. "My name's Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Ino."

"Sasuke."

"Kakashi."

Tsunami gave them a reassuring smile and guided them to their rooms. She left them to converse and settle down.

"Team meeting, now." Kakashi directed. Team 7 gathered in his room, sitting in a circle.

"First off, Naruto, never give your full name to the unknown." Kakashi said, giving Naruto a look of disapproval.

"Second, we will still be continuing our training. Two of you will stay here with something to do and two clones of me and one of you will come with me to protect Tazuna."

Naruto was about to open his mouth before Kakashi looked at him sternly.

"The one that I take with me will be learning tactics from me, so their will be no slacking on my watch."

"Third, their will be night watches and fourth, the damage we did to Zabuza should imobilize him for about two and a half weeks. Until then, we're going to be constantly improving. Questions?"

Naruto raised his hand. "Yes, Naruto."

"Ummm, I can use my clones to help Tazuna build the bridge."

"Good idea and Naruto, raise your hand for questions during a meeting. Any more questions?"

Ino raised her hand. "Ino?"

"I was wondering if you could work on my taijutsu. Obviously my water jutsu aren't working on Zabuza so I need to make sure I'm ready to take him head on."

Kakashi caressed his chin and thought, " _She's right, that's a good thing, their learning their strengths and weaknesses._ "

"That is fine. For now though, we shall rest until tomorrow. Meeting adjourned."

With the extra time they had left, Naruto decided to venture the town. He then promptly said bye to everyone and left the house.

" _Gotta find something fun to do. Maybe I can stock up on some weapons or something._ "

Naruto walked for a solid hour before finding a weapons shop. He entered and greeted the shop owner.

After buying a few kunais, explosive tags, and smoke bombs, he saw a peculiar weapon. He asked the shop owner, who identified himself as Nizami, what it was.

"These," he said as he walked to the weapon, "are what we civilians call a 'gun'. It shoots bullets of small metal that when shot are faster than the eye can see."

Naruto brightened at the sound of how fast and deadly the weapon was but a question popped up in his head.

"How come I've never heard of it?"

"They were just made and ninja villages like their traditional ways of combat."

"Oh, can I buy it."

"These are dangerous but sure, 5000 ryo."

Naruto deadpanned at the price but still bought it any way. The owner decided to be nice and granted him two of the 'guns', two holsters, and a few magazines. He left the shop with a huge grin. also admiring the 'gun' in his hand.

Walking along the town, he heard a yelp in a nearby alley. He ran as fast as he could, to find a woman being... Raped. Raped by a very bulky man.

"Remember my name, slut! Kuzo! I am Kuzo!" he screamed.

Naruto face turned to that of disgust and anger. He couldn't believe what he was witnessing. His eyes widened after realizing something else.

" _Nobody cares._ "

All these people walked past the alley. Not giving a damn. A man walked up to him and just stared blankly at the scene before him.

"Hey kid, this happens all the time. That's Gato's men, they can do whatever. Just leave while yo-"

"NO!" Naruto screamed, ignoring the man and pouncing on the rapist. He delivered a ferocious kick to the dude's head and sent the man flying into the alley wall. The man from earlier watched with wide eyes and whispered "You shouldn't have done that."

Kuzo got up, staggering just a bit and some blood oozing down from his bald head. Looking up to see his attacker, he almost fell over with fear. " _A kid just kicked me._ "

Naruto's eyes were bloody red and his teeth canine-like. His whiskers were now more defined and feral-like. The lady quickly got up, gathered her clothes and ran out the alleyway, realizing this was gonna get ugly. Kuzo swallowed his fear and put on a smug look as he saw the gathering of a crowd.

"Your gonna regret that kid!" Kuzo leaped towards Naruto only to grab thin air. He then felt the tight grab of Naruto's grip and long nails burying itself into his skin. Kuzo yelped in pain and looked back to see the blond haired boy.

"Say sorry!"

"Or what!"

 _CRACK!_

The sickening noise of a bone cracking filled the alley. Kuzo screamed and screamed as he saw his arm bent the opposite of what it was supposed to look like.

Naruto looked at the scene, his feral features starting to die down. His eyes returned back to its blue color, his nails shortened and his whiskers went back to just lines on his face. His angry demeanor changed to that of horror, as he saw Kuzo's arm and the blood on his fingertips.

Tears formed at his eyes and he ran out of the alley in a blur.

 _ **-Later that night-**_

Kakashi sat in his room, reflecting. He had caught whiff of what happened with Naruto from Tsunami.

How was he, as a sensei, to explain this to a 13 year old.

 _ **-In Naruto's room-**_

"Why did I do that?!" Naruto cried into his sleeve. That man was scum, for sure, but that was disgusting.

He heard a knock at his door and grabbed for a kunai. Hiding behind the door, he said enter. The door opened slowly and Naruto grabbed the figure by the neck, his kunai at the person's neck.

"Good to see your senses are improving Naruto."

Naruto deadpanned as he realized it was just Kakashi. Letting go of his sensei, he sat back on his bed.

"Why does that keep happening today?" Kakashi mused.

"Naruto, I know about what happened today."

"So?"

"So, I wanted to tell you, you did the right and the wrong thing. It was right for you to stop that man from raping that woman but at the same time you broke a man's arm. The mission was to protect Tazuna, not that woman."

Naruto was about to cry again as the scene unfolded again in his mind. "I-I know Kakashi-sensei but that was Gato's men."

"I heard but Gato had done nothing so far for us to get involved with his business. Now, Tazuna and the rest of us will be targeted highly. You up for the challenge?"

The blond wiped his tears away, a determined look on his face. "You know it."

Kakashi gave his signature eye smile and left the room. Naruto sat in silence for a few minutes, reminiscent of his past.

 _ **-Flashback-**_

 _Naruto sat in his room. It was the night after Hokage-jiji told him about his tenant._

 _To think that the very monster that killed his parents was in him was, at the very least, unsettling. Unsettling enough to stop him from sleeping._

 _"Mom, dad, I'm sorry. You died because of me." Naruto said aloud, his voice cracking due to the emotional trauma._

 _"I wanna see you. I don't wanna become a ninja. I want to be loved and adored by you. I don't wanna live anymor_ e."

 _He reached for the door of his apartment and took the stairs to the roof._

 _"What is my purpose?" Naruto said. He was followed by silence._

 _"Exactly." He said as he reached the edge. The building was about 10 stories, so a fall would definitely kill him._

 _And he jumped._

 _"Life is a bitch." Was all he said before succumbing into the darkness._

 _...Drip. Drip. Drip._

 _The sound of water filled his senses._

 _"Why does heaven have water." He laughed, standing up from his lay-down position on the floor._

 _Taking a closer look at his surroundings, at Naruto's feet was pure water and he was standing on it, there were pipes on the ceiling, there was also a light at the end of the tunnel, and the most peculiar of all was the crushing urge to walk towards the light._

 _And so he did. No actually, his body did. No matter what will power he had, his body did what it wanted._

 _Naruto could feel the huge spikes of chakra as he neared the light. At the end of it there was huge bars in rows like a prison cell and..._

 _The kyuubi._

 _"_ _ **My host has finally come.**_ _"_

 _Naruto fell on his butt. This wasnt heaven, it was hell!_

 _"You f-f-followed me to death?" Naruto managed to stutter out._

 _"_ _ **You pitiful runt! I can never die! I am the strongest being to ever grace this goddamn rock! Now, come closer!**_ _"_

 _Naruto was too scared to rebutal as kyuubi's infulx of chakra caused his body to heed the demon's words. He got closer to the bar and watched as the fox gave a huge, evil grin._

 _"_ _ **I wish I could eat you! Before that though, how did you even get here? I've never seen any of my host before.**_ _"_

 _Naruto was perplexed. Wasn't this hell?_

 _"I jumped off a building to kill myself. Isn't this hell?" He said. He watched as the Fox's grin closed._

 _"_ _ **You did what?! You little- do you know how painful it is to resurrect!? I can't die but I can turn into a little bit of chakra that takes thousands of painful years to return to true form!**_ _"_

 _Naruto grimaced. "But-"_

 _"_ _ **Your not dying on my watch!**_ _"_

 _ **-End flashback-**_

After that he woke up on the ground, outside his apartment. No scratches, bruises, nothing to confirm he just jumped off a 10 story building.

Naruto hasn't told anyone of this. All they would do is say that the demon tainted his mind or some bull crap like that.

For now though, all he knew was that tomorrow was going to be difficult.

-Sasuke's day-

Stepping out of Kakashi's room, Sasuke immediately entered his room, locking the door behind him.

He set his bag on the bed and unzipped a small pocket. Out came a scroll.

"This is relaxing." Sasuke whispered to himself.

"Is it?" Said a voice behind him. Sasuke drew his kunai and threw it at the intruder.

Catching it between his fingers, Kakashi laughed. "It's just me, my little genin."

" _That's definitely Kakashi-sensei._ "

Sasuke relaxed and sat on his bed. He hid the scroll behind him and put on a fake grin.

"Kakashi, you know why I have to get stronger, right?"

The white-haired nin looked at Sasuke with disgust.

"Vengence is never the answer. Your anger is blindsiding your judgement."

Sasuke didn't even bat an eyelid. He's heard this all before. "Thank you Kakashi, you can lea-"

"Let me see the scroll." Kakashi interrupted. Sasuke grimaced and threw the scroll to Kakashi, all the while turning his head away to avoid his sensei's gaze.

Kakashi caught the scroll and opened it to reveal it's contents.

It was blank.

Sasuke looked over and said, "I was gonna try to make my own techniques."

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Sasuke, I'm not stupid. It says Uchiha on the front, which means that you need a sharingan to read this." He said before flaring his sharingan.

The words on the page revealed themselves but the thing that stood out the most was the name of the technique.

"Demon realm, a b-rank Genjutsu. Sasuke, you were trying to learn this by yourself?"

Sasuke looked away from Kakashi and muttered a yes. The jonin narrowed his eyes. He spoke as he placed the scroll in his pocket.

"I told you guys to relax. You'll get this back tomorrow."

Anger was an understatement to what Sasuke was feeling right now. He was already set to retaliate but watched as Kakashi shunshined away.

"I hate you!" He said to no one particular. He kneed and repeatedly punched the ground.

"How... Am... I... Supposed... To kill him... If I can't get stronger!" He yelled, panting in between some words.

"He killed them!"

 **-Flashback-**

 _Sasuke was walking home from the academy. He had to stay late due to the teacher's giving him a 'surprise exam'._

 _He couldn't wait to go home to his mom's cooking and he hadn't seen his nii-san all day. "They must have been worried about me." he said aloud._

 _As he reached the compound, the smell of flesh and blood entered his nostrils. Sasuke was a little scared and started to walk faster. The compound was now in view and what he saw would haunt him for the rest of his life._

 _The guards were decapitated from the waist down and all the lights were turned off. The faces of the guards were that of disbelief with their mouths wide open and their eyes bloodshot red. Sasuke didn't have time to stop, however, as he realized he still had family in their._

 _Running through the dark compound, the smell of death became more evident every second. Sasuke became more horrified every pant he took. Dead bodies were littered everywhere, from their rooms to the training grounds._

 _At last, he was in front of his parent's room. He could hear some chattering and mumbling of some words._

 _"We knew it had to be done."_

 _And then, the sound of steel hitting flesh was heard._

 _He slammed the door open to see the most horrific thing he saw all night. His brother Itachi stood in front of his now decapitated parents with his sword covered with blood. His Sharingan gleamed in the moonlight with a new design Sasuke had never seen before._

 _Itachi turned to Sasuke with a blank expression. Sasuke flinched and fell down on his butt._

 _"Hello otouto. I was just finishing up."_

 _Sasuke widened his eyes. Itachi did this? The way he sounded, it made him seem..._

 _"Like someone with no remorse, right Sasuke? I have no regrets for doing this."_

 _Itachi read his mind. Sasuke still couldn't believe it. Tears flowed down his face. His nii-san would never do this!_

 _"Why nii-san?! Why!?" He yelped._

 _"Why? I did it to test my strength and as you can see, I'm very strong. So, if you want revenge for mother and father, then you have to kill me. Become stronger, otouto, for we will meet again."_

 _Sasuke couldn't take it anymore. He got up ever so slowly and sprinted towards his brother. The older Uchiha proceeded to disappear in a shunshin of ravens, leaving Sasuke with his dead family in the empty compound._

 _Sasuke could do nothing else but cry for help. "HELP!" he yelled continuously._

 _He cried himself to sleep that night, something he never thought he would do._

 **-End Flashback-**

Sasuke wiped his tears away and looked at his window. Lifting it up, he looked at the moon in front of him.

"I don't need that scroll to train." was all he said before leaping out the window.

 **-Ino's day-**

Ino sat in her room with a book in her hand. She brought a few books in her bag to read during the trip. Most of the books were about flowers but the book in her hand was about weapons.

She knew that she didn't have a specialty in the ninja arts. Her team was spectacular, Naruto was the ninjutsu specialist, Sasuke could do just about everything, and Kakashi-sensei was just Sasuke but 100 times better.

Ino, on the other hand, knew some Ninjutsu, was average at Taijutsu and could handle a kunai well enough to get by. So, in order to better her skills, she's been reading books and practicing in her spare time and the only thing that really intrigued her was the story of a famous swordsmen named Roronoa Zoro.

He used the three-sword style and was a dominant force back when pirates used to exist. Ino found this story intriguing due to the way he used his swords. He had two one sword in each hand and one in his mouth.

" _I want to try this. Except for the sword in my mouth. And maybe not two swords, sounds pretty heavy. One sword will be fine. Like that marine, Tashigi and her sword Meito Shigure. I read that she was so elegant that she could deflect a cannonball with her sword."_

Ino sprouted a huge grin.

"Yeah, I want to be just like her."

She remembered the old days when her mom would pamper her and refuse to let her train with her father. Ino agreed with her, she never really wanted be be a ninja, she wanted to work at the flower shop like her mom.

Her father had her entered at the academy due to the fact that they were a ninja clan and all the children were obliged to enter. She didn't find the academy interesting, the only reason she didn't fight with her dad was because she wanted his approval.

Ino remembered the day she wanted to become a real ninja.

 **-Flashback-**

 _She was about 10 years old. She had been playing with Sakura at the park after school and was now heading to the shop._

 _Ino was passing a store when she heard a scream, "Somebody stop him!"_

 _Out from the store came a robber, black ski mask and all, charging towards her. Behind him was an anbu nin. She locked eyes with him and he grinned maliciously._

 _Ino saw the danger approaching and tried to run but was scooped up in the air by her hair. She yelped in pain and struggled and kicked to get out of the man's grip._

 _"One more step and she gets it." he said, placing a knife over her neck. The anbu nin stopped dead in its tracks. The sword on the anbu's back seemed menacing compared to the small knife the thief was holding._

 _"If you move I-I-I'll kill her."_

 _The anbu said nothing and raised its hand to the hilt of the sword._

 _"Thats- Ugh"_

 _The anbu disappeared and Ino was back on the ground. She got up immediately and turned around to see the anbu with the now unconscious robber on its back. Ino's eyes widened and looked at the sword in the anbu's hand. The tip had some blood which meant she didn't kill him, just knocked him out._

 _Now that Ino got a good look at the anbu, its had long purple hair and a feminine body. Ino thought "A girl ninja saved me. That's so cool!"_

_"Thank you." was all Ino could say. The anbu replied with a "your welcome." and disappeared again._

 **-End Flashback-**

"Time to get to work." Ino said, dismissing the memory.

She had a lot of work ahead of her if she thought she could become as good of a swordsmen as any of those people.

But she knew what direction she was headed.

Little did she know a certain Jonin sensei of hers was outside her door. "Why does no one want to just relax." he whispered to himself.

 **THAT IS THE END MY DUDES. SORRY FOR HIATUS. SCHOOL. BOOM, IM OUT.**

Ino: What an idiot.

 **SHUT THE HELL UP YOUR LUCKY I MADE YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY.**

Ino: *pouting*


	9. Establishing Arc III

"Remind me why I have to stay here and do boring tactics." Naruto sighed. His teammates were out learning cool Jutsu and fighting techniques while he was here learning dumb tactics.

"Because, my little Genin, I have to build upon what you already know," Kakashi began. "Besides, I know you're already pretty good at this."

The duo was sitting in front of a shogi board while Naruto's clones and the bridge builders were working on well... the bridge.

"What do you mean?" Naruto questioned while scratching his chin. " _Last time I checked, I've never played shogi or been taught tactics before. I skipped that part in the academy._ "

"Don't act like you didn't come up with that plan during the fight with Zabuza. How did you do it?" Kakashi declared, moving a piece on the board. "Your turn."

Naruto looked at Kakashi with his chest pumped in a goofy manner and a grin on his face. "I forgot I made that awesome plan! I bet I can already take Hokage-Jiji's hat. "

Kakashi raised a brow at his student's behavior. Naruto calmed down and moved a piece.

"Anyways, while you were stuck in the water prison, I made two clones and henged them to look like me and Ino. The blood was just a few berries that I crushed on their heads."

"You think you're awesome, huh? Checkmate."

Naruto looked at the board astonishingly. "How?"

Kakashi pointed to a piece that was left open. "I already told you, that's the king. You charged everyone you had towards my soldiers and left the king wide open for capture," Kakashi pointed to another piece one panel left of the king. "With the all of your soldiers preoccupied, one of my pawns was able to slip past your offense and slay your king."

Naruto stared at the pieces and analyzed his strategy. " _This is the third time he beat me! Maybe, just maybe, if I can get my generals at the head of the fight and my knights at each side, I can establish an ambush with my promoted bishop, which I can easily hide, and capture his king._ "

The white-haired cyclops reset the pieces on the board and observed Naruto's ready determination. " _He's come up with a plan already._ "

"Are you ready Naruto?" he asked. Kakashi expected Naruto to bust out a grin and yell. This time, however, the blond didn't even spare Kakashi a glance or a smile. He just said yes and they started the game.

Over the course of the game, Kakashi was outmatched by Naruto's quick thinking and unpredictability. When you thought you had him, he would slick his way out with a surprise attack or an ambush. The Sensei was barely able to keep up.

Naruto moved a piece on the board and looked at Kakashi with a smirk on his face. Kakashi dismissed it and captured Naruto's knight. The blond, however, stretched his arm all the way over to where Kakashi's king remained.

What Kakashi failed to notice was that Naruto's promoted bishop made it over to his king. Naruto grinned and said "Check." before capturing his king. Kakashi thought back to the ambushes against his soldiers.

"Every one of those ambushes you did had the promoted bishop, didn't it?"

Naruto nodded happily. "Every ambush I did, I would move the bishop one piece to get closer to your king. You didn't notice because-"

"I was focusing on destroying your offense and failed to realize the defensive pressure you were using on me."

Naruto nodded once again and started to dance. "I won against Kakashi-sensei!"

The Jonin gave Naruto an eye smile and an apologetic look.

"Sorry, Naruto, after all, you're still learning."

At the very least, the Genin was disoriented. He took Kakashi's king, which meant he won, right? Naruto loosened his grip on Kakashi's king piece, read the kanji, and almost flipped over.

"It says pawn! Which means your king is-"

"In the crossfire, I know." Kakashi finished, pointing at his king in between a knight and general. Naruto looked over to his side and saw a piece near his king that had the kanji for Lance.

But his lance was already captured.

He watched as Kakashi moved his hand to the piece and captured his king. "Check," he said. Naruto stared at the board with bewilderment. He trembled and pointed a finger at Kakashi's amused face.

"You're a cheater!" Naruto pouted. Kakashi got up from his crouched position and patted Naruto on the back.

"It's okay Naruto, take this as a learning experience for real combat. Think of the king as a shinobi using henge. He or she is our main target. The pawn that they are using is also using a henge."

Kakashi proceeded to grab the two pieces. "The part where you screwed up was analyzing the situation. Instead of reading the kanji before attacking, you went straight ahead and captured someone that wasn't planned to be captured. In real life, you have to use the data that you have of the target. Everything you know about the person must be tested for confirmation before you do anything crazy."

Naruto scratched his chin and nodded during the lecture, soaking up what he could. "How would I check for this stuff'?" he questioned.

Kakashi put the king piece down. "Let's say, for instance, that the info told you that the subject had a knack for biting his lip. You could easily confirm a fake or not with info like this. A less obvious piece of info is something like a faint scar on his palm. To check for scars and injuries, you would need some kind of plan to make then expose that area. Any more questions?"

Naruto nodded affirmative and asked, "Could we play again already, I'm itching to try out a new strategy."

The white-haired Jonin gave an eye smile and the duo was right back at it.

 **-In the forest near Tazuna's house-**

 _CLANG!_

The sound of metal striking metal was heard. The sound of panting and struggling was also largely evident.

On one side of the large green field was Ino, a kunai in her right hand. Scratches and bruises were all over her body and blood trickled down her left leg.

" _This guy is too good. I've tried everything but I haven't even been able to touch him. What makes this harder is that this is a kunai only battle. Good thing is, these are blunt._ "

On the other side was Kakashi, well a clone of Kakashi. He too also held a kunai in his hand. The clone was spotless and gazed expressionless at Ino.

"Again." the clone said. Ino held the kunai to her face and waited for the clone to attack. She grits her teeth feeling the pain of moving her limbs. " _Damn it! This is gonna hurt!_ "

The two stood there for a good 10 seconds before Ino realized the clone wasn't on the offensive.

" _Are you serious, now this is really gonna hurt!_ "

Dashing forward, she made sure to keep the kunai in front of her face. The clone dashed forward as well, meeting her in the middle of the field.

Like the many times before, they clashed in a kunai stalemate. Kakashi gained the upper hand, however, with his strength and knocked the kunai out of Ino's hand.

Seeing the situation she was in, Ino flipped back a few feet away from the clone and took out a second kunai. She gripped it tightly and now had to come up with a new plan.

" _I tried to be fierce and strong like Zoro but that obviously doesn't work with the LITTLE muscle I have. I can try an elegant approach like Tashigi but I'm not all that flexible. The worst approach is precise and quiet as Ms. Cat Anbu. So, elegant it is._ "

Ino charged towards the Jonin clone. The clone did the same.

" _Now!_ " Ino thought.

At the last second, Ino flipped over Kakashi and landed behind him. She charged, once again, with the kunai in a position to kill.

The clone turned around quickly, one step further than Ino thought, and simply hit Ino's wrist with the handle of his kunai. Ino felt the pain rip through her body but remained standing. She jumped backward to create some space between them and miraculously landed where her last kunai was skidded off to.

She glanced at the kunai and started to think. " _If I did that same strategy again, except with a second kunai, he wouldn't have had time to hit my other wrist before I could stab him. Or maybe if I-_ "

"We don't have all day." interrupted the Kakashi clone. Ino quickly grabbed the second kunai and surveyed the field around her. " _There's definitely enough space for it._ "

Ino sighed, closed her eyes and tensed up her body. Opening her eyes again, the clone was surprised to see the anger and determination in them. Before he could prepare, she dashed towards him with one kunai protecting her abdomen and one protecting her face.

She made it over to the clone and slashed at his face. He blocked it and dropped down to the ground to dodge the stab for his abdomen.

He was about to retaliate but watched as Ino flip back a few yards from him. The clone was barely able to get up before being charged at again by Ino. He braced himself and watched the purple blur get to him.

Right in front of Kakashi, Ino skidded to a halt and spun around the clone with her arm outstretched. The kunai in her hand was poised to strike Kakashi in the back. Just as the tip of the knife touched his flak jacket, the clone came back to its senses and tried to stab Ino in the abdomen.

Ino realized this just in time to barely dodge the strike, jumping to the left. " _I really thought that was gonna work too!_ "

The clone gave a look of approval and shunshined a few yards away from Ino. He put his kunai in his pouch and gestured for Ino to do the same. "Let's take a break. I know little medical ninjutsu so this might take some time."

Ino sighed and put her weapon away. " _Finally, no more torture._ "

She ached with every step she took as she approached Kakashi. The light blond-haired Genin laid down on the ground before Kakashi, waiting for treatment. The clone knelt down and nursed Ino's wounds with a faint green light from his hands.

The clone and Ino didn't say a word for a few minutes.

" _This clone doesn't say much, unlike the original._ " Ino mused. What the clone did remind her of Kakashi was his focus during a situation.

To break the tension, she decided to ask some questions.

"So, is there anything you want to correct me on?"

The clone didn't bat an eyelid and monotonously said, "Your taijutsu needs lots of work. You had a great strategy but you were kinda slow and I'm not just saying that because I'm a Jonin. Other than that, using two kunai's was efficient and original."

Ino smiled slightly. Her strategy was great. A Jonin said her strategy was great! Ino's eyes brightened up and joy and determination filled her soul. The clone raised a brow and smiled underneath the mask.

" _She's all dirty and hurt but doesn't even care. Ino finally realizes what it means to be a kunoichi._ "

 **-In another part of the forest-**

 _Raiton: Rakurai no Jutsu!_

Outof Sasuke's hand came a small bolt of lightning, akin to the size of a fireball from the technique, _Katon: Endan._ The attack hit a tree and created a small crater into it.

The second clone watched from a distance as Sasuke practiced the technique he gave him. In the few hours they were out here, Sasuke managed to practice fighting with his Sharingan and master a D-rank lightning jutsu. At this point, Sasuke was practicing his aim and it was going pretty well. His prodigy side showed and it was mesmerizing to gaze at.

Deciding to stop him to work on something else, Kakashi 2 put a hand on the slightly exhausted Uchiha's shoulders.

"Good job, I got another jutsu for you to learn. It's a D r-"

"I want a C-rank."

Kakashi 2 sighed. He tried to be nice with the kid but now he's pissing him off. He calmed down and spoke to Sasuke calmly.

"Look Sasuke, I'm the Jonin and my orders are final. I can let you make a suggestion sometimes but I said your gonna learn this D-rank and that's final."

"No."

That's it. This kid is infuriating and Kakashi 2 was gonna fix that. He grabbed the kid by his blue collar and watched as Sasuke smirked.

"Listen here, you little brooding bitch, I said I'm the Jonin and your gonna respect me and my judgment! You don't have to like me but as your superior and your teacher, I teach you what I deem necessary. Take that stick out of your ass before I have to beat it out!"

That little smirk didn't fade, however, and it angered Kakashi 2 even more. He cocked his fist back and drove it into Sasuke's face. Sasuke was forcefully ripped out of Kakashi's grip and skidded away onto the ground.

"That's for leaving yesterday to train when I deliberately told everyone to stay put!"

Sasuke got up quickly, looking angry as he nursed the bruise that sat on his cheek. " _That hurt like a bitch! If he can hit like that then I better stand down._ "

Kakashi 2 sighed again. "Just for that display of disobedience, I'm cutting training short today. If you want proper training, then don't act like a spoiled brat. Let's go."

The clone took the lead and Sasuke followed loosely behind, deep in his thoughts. " _My whole life, things were handed to me. I wanted a jutsu, I would get it. Anything I needed and everything I wanted I didn't have to work for._ "

A frown appeared on Sasuke's face. " _Then my family got massacred and my brother was the traitor. I was still allowed to live on the compound and I didn't have to pay rent. The council provided me with clothes and food to eat but not what I needed most. A family._ "

" _The Sasuke everyone knew died and was replaced with a cold-hearted avenger. I shut out everyone and didn't allow friends to drag me down. After all, everyone was too stupid and weak. I can't lie that Naruto is more tolerable than before in the academy and way stronger too. Ino seems more like a kunoichi than before too. Maybe...No, I have to avenge them. No matter what._ "

The duo made it to the house and the clone dispelled. Sasuke sat on the couch, letting Tsunami perform first-aid on his injuries. A few minutes later, Ino came in a little banged up. She barely acknowledged him, only stopping to say hi and headed to her room.

A half-hour later and Naruto, Kakashi and Tazuna made it back. Naruto raised a brow at Sasuke's condition and Kakashi didn't look surprised. Tazuna was too drunk to care.

"What happened to you teme?"

"None of your business dobe."

Naruto shrugged it off, which Sasuke didn't expect, and went to his room. Tsunami was done patching him up and sent him to his room to rest.

 **-Ino's room-**

"Maybe if I hold it like this."

Ever since she got here, Ino's been working on, what she dubbed, her, 'two kunai style'. It wasn't as deadly as a sword but could get the job done. The style was inspired by Zoro's Nitoryu and Ittoryu.

Currently, she held both the kunai in vice grip. A scroll was taped to her wall, following the katas on it. Following through, she sliced down and slashed left. Ino then formed an x with her arms and slashed again.

She holstered her kunai and wiped a sweat off her head. " _This is harder than I thought. Following katas without a teacher is impossible._ "

She grabbed the scroll off the wall and shoved it into her backpack. " _I don't need this damn scroll. It's for swords and these are kunai. I'll just have to make up my own moves!_ "

Ino took out her kunai once again. She held it in vice-grip and slashed ferociously at the air repeatedly. This went on until Tsunami called them for lunch.

 **-Kitchen-**

Everyone in the house sat to eat. Naruto awaited the food with his mouth watering fountains. Tsunami finally placed his food on his plate and Naruto started devouring at inhumane rates. Tsunami and her family looked at Naruto with shock. Team 7 just stared at him and continued with their foods.

"More, please!" Naruto asked with an empty plate and a full mouth. Tsunami sweat dropped and gave him some more. Inari glared at Naruto the whole time, not even picking up his fork to eat. " _Why are they even here. Everything their doing is for nothing. Mom's just givin em food for no reason!_ "

Naruto patted his stomach. "I'm stuffed," he said before excusing himself from the table. "See ya later!" He just about put his hand on the doorknob of the house when Inari called out to him.

"Hey, Naruto, why are you even here!?"

Naruto turned around, confusion plastered on his face.

"For a missio-"

"Gato is gonna kill you guys, just like he did to Kaiza! Gato and his men are too strong, he'll crush you like bugs!"

Tsunami was panicking, looking from Team 7 to her dad and Inari. " _Inari I know its hard but why did you have to bring them into this. I miss Kaiza too but somethings you just keep to yourself._ "

Unexpectedly, Naruto grabbed Inari by his shirt and lifted him to his eye level. "Look at my eyes, does it look like I'm gonna back down! Gato's men can suck it if they think that Shinobi like me and my team are too weak. Kakashi by himself could kill Gato and his army in 10 seconds!"

And it was true, the fire, the passion, it all showed in Naruto's eyes.

Kakashi ordered Naruto to put the kid down and Naruto obliged. He walked back to the exit and walked out onto the town. Ino excused herself from the table and also walked out. Sasuke remained behind and locked himself in his room.

 **-Two weeks and 3 days later-**

Over the half month, team 7 has been training their butts off. From Naruto to Ino, the Genin were sent home with multiple bruises and cuts that, except for Naruto, lasted for days at a time. But the results were very good.

Sasuke's attitude dialed down a lot. He was quieter and didn't spike his pride everywhere. Kakashi was able to beat respect and obedience into the kid's brain. His skills as a Shinobi also took a leap, with him having learned 5 D-rank jutsu and 2 C-rank and becoming better at Taijutsu. Sasuke could now fight a lot better with his Sharingan activated. His tactics in fighting somewhat improved but he still didn't get the concept of teamwork.

Naruto was still his loud self but was less obnoxious and knew when to shut up. His skills in shogi were a lot better and his information gathering was almost there. Kakashi mostly trained his Taijutsu to fix all the holes the academy didn't bother to fix. Kakashi got him started on some jutsu but Naruto did master _Fuuton: Bouseki Tate no Kaze,_ a D-rank wind jutsuand _Fuuton: Yadama Henshin Bakuha_ , another D-rank jutsu wind jutsu. In between his Taijutsu and Ninjutsu training, Naruto trained his aim with his guns. He worked so hard on it that he had to buy multiple magazines. No one questioned his guns, choosing not to anger him anymore.

Ino had the biggest improvement. Her resolve to become a better Kunoichi increased each time she stepped on the field. Her Taijutsu took a massive leap, as she was faster, stronger and more adept at fighting. She originally tried to buy a sword in the town but even the money they all used combined couldn't buy her the weapon. So instead, she worked nonstop on her two kunai style, choosing to fight in using only the two kunai unless Kakashi told her not to. Ino did manage to master a D-rank water jutsu called _Suiton: Mizutamari no Jutsu_.

Kakashi had them also master tree walking and water walking. Although they had started the exercise back in Konoha, he still made them perfect it. The training helped them a lot and it caused a more efficient and worthy team.

The team stood on the bridge, waiting for Zabuza and whoever saved him. The bridge builders had gone home early, leaving an unfinished bridge and a barely vacant soon-to-be battlefield.

Suddenly, the mist became thicker, denser and most importantly, bloodthirsty. The killing intent was spread all across the battlefield as the team readied their weapons. Sasuke and Kakashi's Sharingan blazing crimson, Ino with her kunai, and Naruto with his guns.

Sasuke moved his head to the left. He grit his teeth, seeing right through the mist to see a bunch of senbons heading for Naruto.

"Naruto, left, senbon, heads up!"

Naruto quickly holstered his guns, turned and ran through hand seals.

 _Fuuton: Yadama Henshin Bakuha!_

Taking a big puff of air, Naruto let out a gust of wind that sent the incoming senbon back to their owner. Zabuza's sword nearly cut off Sasuke's head but he was able to duck in time. This time, senbon came from the right and Kakashi immediatley alerted Naruto.

Naruto did the same thing again and awaited further instruction.

"Stop trying! Let me kill the old man already and nobody will be hurt...too much." Said the voice of Zabuza. Kakashi looked everywhere for the direction of the voice but the mist made it sound like it came from everywhere.

 _CLANG!_

Zabuza appeared from nowhere and clashed with Kakashi, sword to kunai. The Genin reacted quickly, Sasuke and Ino threw a few kunai, which Zabuza easily dodged and Naruto was about to shoot him.

That was before a block of ice slammed into him and sent him flying a few yards back.

"Naruto!" Ino cried. Sasuke was trying to look through the mist to see who did it but the person concealed their presence and chakra.

Kakashi summoned a shadow clone to deal with Zabuza and gave orders to his Genin. "Help Naruto and deal with his accomplice! D-"

Zabuza stabbed the clone and made his way over to Kakashi, which cut Kakashi's orders short. Ino and Sasuke quickly ran over to Naruto and helped him up. They formed a triangle formation and kept their senses alert.

A figure appeared from the mist. It looked like a hunter-nin, mask and all, maybe a girl. The outfit wasn't going to fool the Genin, however, and they readied themselves.

With a burst of speed, the fake hunter-nin charged at Sasuke, senbon drawn. She took a kick at Sasuke's skull but having seen it through his Sharingan, Sasuke ducked and sweep kicked the nin.

In mid-air, the nin maneuvered their body to roll away from Sasuke. She got up and charged Sasuke again. The nin slashed at Sasuke but was blocked by Ino's kunai.

"Don't forget about us!" Ino yelled, overpowering the fake hunter-nin. She slashed down at the nin but the strike was dodged. The fake hunter-nin was ready to slash Ino with a senbon before a loud pop noise rang out and pain ripped through her body as she knelt down.

Naruto stood a few feet away, his gun stretched in the nin's direction and emitting some smoke. "Ino just told you not to forget about us, damn it!" Naruto barked before blowing the smoke away.

He didn't have good accuracy yet but was able to get the person in the shoulder. It wasn't lethal but did enough to get her down for a few seconds. Sasuke took these few seconds to deliver a kick to the nin's mask, destroying it in the process. The nin skidded away a few feet and got up quickly.

Naruto took a good look at the face and was shocked. "Haku!? What the hell are you doing?!"

The now identified Haku said nothing as she grimaced in pain. The blood from her wound, however, stopped gushing and it looked like it was healing.

Sasuke was the first to question Naruto. "How do you know her?"

Naruto lowered his gun and spoke. "First of all, Haku is a boy. Second, when Inari said all that bullcrap, I went to the forest to vent. Then Haku came from the forest and started talking to me, said he was gathering herbs for a friend who was hurt. Then he started talking bullcrap about how life is not worth being happy and crap. I wasn't trying to hear it so I got up and left mid-conversation."

Sasuke and Ino nodded. Sasuke looked back at Haku and tensed. How...

"Guys, his wound is closing! He's got a healing factor of some sort!"

Haku threw a volley of senbon at the team. Reacting quickly, Naruto threw his own volley of shuriken and rushed through hand seals.

 _Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!_

The shuriken multiplied to hundreds and easily destroyed Haku's senbon, making their way to Haku. Zabuza's apprentice jumped in the air to avoid the shuriken but failed to notice the Uchiha performing hand seals.

 _Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!_

Sasuke launched several small balls of fire towards Haku. Said nin ran through hand seals of his own.

 _Makyō Hyōshō!_

An ice mirror formed in front of Haku and the fireballs impacted it. Team 7 widened their eyes when they saw the mirror stood unscathed and the fireballs dissipated.

"My ice mirrors are invincible. Nothing can destroy it or even crack it!" Haku said boastfully.

Team 7 didn't have time to linger as Haku landed. Ino ran ahead and stabbed at Haku. He dodged and punched Ino in the gut. Ino fell to her knees and gasped for air but recovered quickly and sliced the surprised Haku in the shin. Ino then rejoined her team, panting a little.

Looking towards Naruto, Haku saw him grab for his gun. He quickly formed an Ice mirror and the bullet bounced off into the woods.

" _That weapon is fast at launching those small pieces of metal. If I want to win I have to use_ _ **it**_ _._ "Haku thought, dodging a swing from Sasuke. He started to weave through hand seals but was interrupted by a kick to his temple.

Problem is, Sasuke backed off a second ago, so who hit him? He had everyone in his sights and the Jonin was fighting Zabuza.

Haku landed roughly on the ground. Looking up, he saw Naruto towering over him. "Naruto' dispelled in a cloud of smoke. " _Oh, Naruto's the blond with shadow clones!_ "

Zabuza's warning ringed in his head. " _Look out for the blond with the shadow clones._ "

Now he saw why.

 _Raiton: Rakurai no Jutsu!_

A small lightning bolt made its way over to Haku. Haku rolled away as the bolt hit his previous position. He got up quickly and ran towards the group of Genin. Sasuke engaged Haku in a Taijutsu battle, aiming an uppercut to his chin. Haku narrowly dodged and kneed Sasuke in the stomach.

The Uchiha fought through the pain and threw a kunai before flipping back to his team. Ino and Naruto took charge, Naruto with his guns holstered, choosing to use his fists.

Naruto took the lead, smashing a fist into Haku's face and an uppercut to his chin. He followed up with a knee to his stomach and a kick to his temple.

" _So fast!_ " Haku thought. He didn't let up though, gathering his bearings and sweep kicking Naruto and then launching a block of ice at his stomach, sending Naruto back to where Sasuke was.

Having forgotten about Ino, Haku saw the light-haired blond rush towards him. He was set to give her a punch to her face but Ino cleverly slid under Haku's legs.

Uknowingly to Haku, Sasuke made his way over there too. Ino slashed her kunai at Haku's back, cutting the cloth on her back and opening a wound on his back. Seeing Ino's strategy, Sasuke gave the distracted nin a punch to the face. Haku flew back, getting up and hissing in pain. He looked angry, very angry.

"That's it, I'm done with you people! I tried to be nice but Zabuza and I need to kill Tazuna, so just die already!"

 _Makyō Hyōshō!_

This time instead of just one mirror, multiple mirrors manifested and surrounded Naruto, Sasuke, Ino, and Haku.

Not wasting any time, Naruto leaped at Haku only to catch thin air as the ice user walked into the mirror. Naruto growled and watched as Haku appeared in every mirror, twenty-one to be exact.

Naruto growled. "Haku why are you doing this!?"

Haku laughed. "Because I'm a monster, Naruto-kun. I was the death of someone I loved. Because I was and still am a monster."

 **-Flashback-**

 _A middle-aged woman knelt down in front of a small Haku. She had the same features as him, which was weird because Haku is a boy. She looked very stressed._

 _"Haku, we have to leave." Said the woman. They stood in a kitchen with a hole in the ground that seemed like an escape route._

 _"Why okaa-san?" Haku said innocently_

 _The sound of a door breaking down boomed. A mob of people entered the house yelling, "Find her!", "Find him!", "Get these monsters out of our village!"_

 _The door to the kitchen was barricaded with wood so they didn't have much time. Haku seemed scared and his eyes widened._

 _"Please Haku, hurry!" Said his distressed mother. She pushed him down the stairs of the escape route._

 _BANG!_

 _The door to the kitchen was almost off its hinges._

 _"Okaa-san come on!"_

 _"Run Haku, I'll catch up!"_

 _So, he ran. His mother closed the trap door and put her head down._

 _"_ _ **I don't have time to get in. My one and only child-**_ _"_

 _BANG!_

 _"There she is!"_

 _"_ _ **I love you.**_ _"_

 **-End Flashback-**

"When I realized my mother wasn't coming, I ran back up to the house and saw a slit in her throat. I laid there, crying till I fell to sleep. Zabuza found me there and took me in as if I was his own, so I won't lose!"

Haku drew four senbon, and when I say Haku, I mean all of them drew four senbon.

"Haku, I'm so sorry you had to go through that, I know some people who've lost someone or even people precious to them! I'm an orphan, so... I-I wouldn't know." Naruto said, his eyes softening. He put his head down and Sasuke looked at Haku with a sense of similarity.

"Well, I'm sorry Naruto-kun, but this is for Zabuza, the only one who ever was truly capable of protecting me."

And the barrage began.

Kakashi threw a kunai towards Zabuza and raced after him. Catching him off guard, Kakashi gave a good punch to his face and drove a kunai through his shoulder.

"Ack!"

He leaped back and panted heavily. He wasn't doing too hot either, he had a non-lethal stab wound in his ribs and his chakra was almost gone.

"Your brats are... as good as dead... Kakashi." Zabuza said tiredly, coughing in between. "Haku's using his strongest technique. It's unbreakable."

"I have no doubt that my Genin can handle this."

"You look tired Kakashi," Zabuza started. "but so am I so let's just finish this already."

Kakashi smirked. "I couldn't have said it better."

Zabuza dashed towards Kakashi and thrusted his sword. Kakashi ducked underneath the blade and sweep kicked Zabuza. Before Zabuza could hit the ground, Kakashi gave him a kick to the face that sent him flying.

The Zabuza that was sent flying turned into a puddle of water.

Kakashi grimaced as his Sharingan saw the fist he was about to take to the face. He skidded into the bridge, leaving a Kakashi sized imprint. He got up slowly and took out a kunai. Kakashi surrounded the blade with lightning and charged Zabuza.

Team 7 was in a very tight spot. No space meant no place to escape Haku's nonstop barrage of senbons.

"You'll die here. Zabuza will be proud of me."

Another senbon. Another, another, another, another.

" _It's just raining fricking senbons!_ "

Every jutsu they tried didn't work and even when Naruto blew the senbon back a new batch would follow suit, leaving no room for him to complete the hand signs. Ino and Sasuke blocked as many as they could with their kunai and jutsu but they're chakra ran out already and the kunai could only block so many.

 _Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!_

Sasuke fired off his signature jutsu at a barrage of senbon. However, he was struck in the back with a senbon. Sasuke fell to the ground, unable to feel anything but his mouth.

"Sasuke!" The blonds yelled in unison. They ran over to him, Ino trying to get the senbon out and Naruto blasting away any senbon.

"No one can defeat me. Everyone will die."

"I'm okay, just get the senbon out of my back."

 _Futon_ : _Kyouzuu no Jutsu!_

Naruto blasted away some senbon but one slipped through the cracks.

"It's okay Sau- Ack!"

Naruto turned around to see what all the commotion was about and saw a senbon in Ino's neck and her body motionless. His heart skipped a beat and his eyes widened as he knelt down. He checked for a pulse on her wrist. Then her neck. No pulse.

Sasuke was starting to get feeling back in his body. He slowly got up and saw Ino. "What's the big idea! What happened!"

Tears went down Naruto's face. "Ino's dead! She's gone!" he cried.

Sasuke grit his teeth growled and turned towards the mirrors. "You bastard!"

Haku stopped throwing senbon to observe the scene. "Oh, I killed your comrade. Oh well, that's life. Never get too attached." he said with a smile. He drew a senbon.

"Oooo, this is my poison coated senbon. Whoops, I dropped it."

A volley of senbon fell down towards Sasuke and Naruto. The blond prepared the go through hand signs but was stopped by the horrific scene before him.

Sasuke had taken the brunt of the attack. He stood there shaking, a bunch of senbon everywhere on his body and turned to Naruto. His Sharingan deactivated and all he said was "My body just moved." before falling to the ground.

At this point, Naruto could barely stand. Hundreds of emotions ran through him at once. Sadness, anger, loneliness and many, many more. His blond hair covered his eyes and he got up ever so slowly.

He pointed at a mirror and put his head up. Naruto's eyes weren't blue anymore. They were crimson red and a slit as a pupil.

"You,' Naruto started, a red shroud of chakra forming over his body. "Are FUCKING DEAD!" He finished, getting on all fours as one tail formed.

Haku almost passed out from the killing intent. He could barely breathe.

Naruto roared, releasing lots of power. He took out his guns, which were also surrounded by the red chakra, and rapid fired off into the mirrors. The bullets' color turned from gold to dark red. One by one, the mirrors gave out until Haku was in the last one.

Naruto roared once more, letting out a bullet that struck Haku in the chest, also shattering the mirror in the process. Haku fell to the ground, coughing up blood.

Kakashi felt killing intent that he hadn't felt since... Oh no.

" _My students are in trouble!_ "

Zabuza gasped for air. "Where the hell is that coming from!"

"Just shut up and finish this," Kakashi said. He rushed through hand seals and put his hand down as blue electricity flowed freely on his hand. "Lightning Blade!"

Naruto jumped onto Haku's body, his feral features giving off an intense mood. "Here I thought, we could be friends! But no," Naruto said as he gave Haku and punch to the face. "You had to be a little bitch about it!"

He continuously punched Haku, each punch stronger than the last for every time he thought about his teammates. Naruto finally got up and then lifted Haku by his neck. "Any last words!"

Haku glanced further behind Naruto before smirking. "Sorry, Naruto-Kun"

A pillar of ice slammed into Naruto but melted on impact with his chakra shield. The impact was enough to make him let go of Haku.

Haku didn't even bat an eyelid at Naruto and ran straight past him.

Kakashi made it to Zabuza and swung his arm towards his abdomen. Blood splattered everywhere but Zabuza didn't feel pain.

Kakashi looked into Zabuza's eyes and saw no signs of him wavering into death. He did impale something though.

He looked down to see Haku. His hand was through Haku, not Zabuza. Kakashi's eyes widened.

" _Shit, the kid took his place which means..._ "

Naruto was about to run after Haku but he was already out of sight so he settled on mourning his teammates instead. He walked on all fours to his deceased teammates' bodies.

He wanted to talk to them again. Kami knew that wasn't going to happen. He put his hands on the bodies and watched as his red chakra transferred to them.

" _What the hell!_ "

The senbon floated out of their body and landed on the ground next to them. He could see all the wounds that were open on their body close.

" _Whats happening!_ "

Naruto gasped when he saw Sasuke's finger move.

And Ino wriggled her nose!

Naruto smiled. "The Kyuubi is actually doing good. What iron-"

The world went dark and he fell to the ground.

Kakashi took his hand out the kid and observed as the kid fell to the ground.

"Hey!"

It came from the bridge. Kakashi took a glance towards the bridge, Zabuza also looking back. The bounty hunter scowled.

There was an army of thugs on the bridge with a midget in the front.

" _Is that-_ "

" _It's Gato!_ "

"I see you didn't get the job done, Momochi." Gato said with a smug smile. "I'll make this quick. Men, attack!"

Zabuza looked to Kakashi. "Mind helping me get this done?"

The white-haired cyclops hesitated for a second before nodding. Needless to say, it was a massacre.

With the remaining chakra he had, Kakashi took out half the thugs with a fireball and Zabuza just cut down every single one that attacked him.

One of them did manage to stab Zabuza in the back while he was off guard and that thug's waist and up wasn't attached to his legs after Zabuza was done with him.

Gato stared at the scene with his mouth hanging open. Horror was plastered across his face. " _I better run! Shit, what have I done!?_ "

Zabuza was done.

" _Actually, not yet._ "

He walked up to Gato and held him by his neck. "You're lucky I'm dying or I would have tortured you till you died."

The sound of metal cutting flesh and blood was heard. Zabuza dropped Gus sword and Gato's head. He walked over to Haku's body, laid there, and closed his eyes.

" _The least I could do after working you this hard is to die by your side. I always said you were a tool. I wish I could tell you that you were my son._ "

Kakashi frowned in sadness watching Zabuza die by his apprentice's side. But there were bigger matters to attend to.

The Genin.

He ran as fast as his body could take him. He finally reached over to his team and smiled. They were all cuddled up, sleeping.

" _I'll admit, that was one hell of a battle. They deserve a rest. But there still is that mysterious spike of the Kyuubi's chakra. I'll ask him about it later._ "

He put Naruto and Sasuke over his shoulders and held Ino in his arms. " _I have no more chakra, guess I'll have to run. Screw me._ "

Kakashi and co eventually made it to Tazuna's house. It took several days for the Genin to get back in ninja training. Not because they were injured but to let them relax and calm their minds.

When he had questioned Naruto about the chakra and why his teammates didn't have any injuries, it was answered. The answer wasn't what he was expecting. Naruto told him he used the Kyuubi's chakra to destroy Haku's mirrors, shoot him in the chest and literally almost destroy his face. Then he somehow healed his teammates with the Kuubi's chakra before passing out. " _What a coincidence, the Kyuubi saving people._ "

Naruto wasn't sad or traumatized for almost killing Haku. He told Kakashi, "If my teammates are hurt, the person who did it deserves no mercy from me, especially if they don't say sorry."

Currently, they stood in front of the town they had just saved. The people had gathered to thank them and wish them good luck on their journey back to Konoha.

"Thank you so very much!" One villager yelled. A random villager made his way to the front of the crowd with a sheathed blade in his hand.

Ino gasped. "It's Yuha, that's the guy who was selling the swords!"

Yuha nodded and knelt down on one knee, presenting the sword to Ino. The rest of team 7 raised a brow. The sheath was pure white and the hilt was black. From what she could tell, it was a Katana.

"Please accept this a gift from our small town."

She happily nodded and took the sword. Ino unsheathed the sword and glowed up. Sure, it was a regular Katana but to her, the glint of the steel blade made her happy inside. " _This is the first step to becoming just like them!_ "

Then another villager stepped up to the team, it was Nizami from the weapons shop. "Hello, I'm Nizami of the weapons shop. Naruto knows me pretty well. I came to give him some magazines for his guns and I am truly thankful for you guys saving our town."

Naruto grinned and thanked Nizami before taking the magazines. Nizami reached into his back pocket and turned towards Sasuke. "And for you, Naruto requested I made a special kunai for you."

Sasuke was appalled. He looked at Naruto and the blonde gave him a thumbs up with his famous grin.

He turned back to Nizami and held out his hand. When Sasuke saw the kunai, he almost said than you.

The metal was dark blue and the hilt was covered with pure white tape. Written on the tape, in red, was Sasuke's initals.

Sasuke nodded to the weapons shop keeper and muttered a quick "thanks" while putting the kunai in his holsters.

Kakashi smiled at Naruto's kindness. " _Maybe Sasuke'll finally warm up to em."_

"Sorry, Nizami, was it? We gotta go."

Naruto gave a quick thank you to Nizami and him and his team were off.

 **Hey guys, NS here, I hope you enjoyed. Just so you know, this is 7000+ words you just read. If you have any criticism, please review, follow, favorite, whatever you think is necessary. NS OUT**


	10. Apply Arc I

Kakashi was proud. Something he hadn't been in a long time. Especially as a Shinobi, with all of the things he had to do that, went against his morals.

When the Sandaime told him that these kids, no, _adults_ , would be put on his team, he didn't think much of them, just another team he was bound to fail. He was wrong. But now he can finally say it. Team 7's progress from the last three weeks was exciting, to say the least.

Naruto's Taijutsu was now to the point that even Sasuke could barely keep track of his movements. His 'Akuma Haraise' was quite the style, as it fits Naruto's natural unpredictability. Kakashi decided not to touch Naruto's Ninjutsu because his other skills were lacking so everything from kunai throwing to basic Jutsu usage was what Kakashi taught Naruto how to use strategically.

Ino seemed to never want to take a break. Seeing the vast improvements her teammates were making, Ino was determined to stay up to par with them. Weapon-wise, Ino could best Naruto and Sasuke, as for her Kenjustu, she was gifted. It seemed the blade was just her calling. She was so fluid and natural with the blade in her hand. Although she lacked strength, she made up for that with her elegant reflexes and battle-ready mind. Just like Naruto, her Ninjutsu was lacked a little to improve the basic things that she wasn't good at.

Sasuke was something else. With his Sharingan activated, he was easily mid-Chunin level but with the level of arrogance Sasuke had, it was fairly easy to get under his skin. To combat this, Kakashi has been drilling more and more team exercises into their training and has been conducting emotional therapy. Kakashi also gave Sasuke a few jutsu to keep him busy just in case he wanted to start complaining. Although, he was starting to warm up to his teammates, even occasionally starting normal conversations with his fellow teammates.

Kakashi walked into training ground 7 to see his Genin waiting patiently. Well, patiently meaning Naruto was making a trap and Sasuke mock fighting. Ino just sat down next to a large rock, cleaning her sword which she named 'Rose'.

The one-eyed Sharingan wielder closed his book and interrupted his team. "Hello, my sweet Genin," he said with an eye smile. "Fortunately for you guys, there's no training today."

Sasuke stopped his training and crossed his arms.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and had a heated expression. "Then why'd you call us here, you white-haired bastard. I could've been eating ramen right now!"

"YEAH! Well, except the ramen part." Ino added as she sheathed her sword behind her.

"Hn"

Kakashi sighed and approached Naruto slowly. "Oh sweet little Naruto," his eye smile disappeared and was replaced with a serious expression. "Don't call me a bastard ever again, you're ruining my mood."

Naruto simply pouted and shrugged. "Screw your mood, I need ramen. Just answer already."

Kakashi sighed again and put on his eye smile once more. "I'm rewarding my Genin for all their hard work."

Naruto glowed up, a smile spread across his face and his hands behind his head. "Your rewarding us? If that's the case, let's go for ramen at Ichiraku's"

Ino observed the exchange and whispered, "Naruto has to have some serious health issues if he eats all that much ramen."

Naruto turned ever so slowly to Ino. His left eyebrow was twitching and he looked angry. "Shut it Ino, ramen is the food that Kami has blessed us with! My health's just fine, I've eaten ramen every day for years now, and I haven't been to the hospital since I've entered the academy." Naruto pouted.

"Whatever." Ino clapped back.

"Now, now, although I do wish you would cut down on your ramen intake Naruto, Naruto is a ninja now Ino, he decides whats good for his body."

Ino pouted and turned away as Sasuke smirked.

"And no Naruto, we're not going to Ichiraku's, we're going to the Akimichi family restaurant. I heard that some of the other Genin teams meet there so I thought it would be a good idea if you can relax with your friends."

Naruto almost barked again by the thought of no ramen but then brightened up by the fact he was going to get to be with his friends. Ino seemed to be plotting something and Sasuke just grunted and said lead the way.

" _I'll finally show forehead how strong I've gotten. Come to think of it, I haven't seen her in a while. Oh well, I'm still stronger though._ "

 _-time skip-_

Team 7 sat down in one of the many booths of the Akimichi Restaurant. Kakashi said and immediately regretted, that the meal was his treat and Naruto proceeded to order a 5-star meal that he ate himself. Sasuke and Ino ate a decent meal, which Kakashi couldn't have thanked Kami enough for.

When they had arrived none of the other rookies were there. At least, another Genin team was there, far away from them. The team consisted of two look-alikes in green spandex, one being a lot older than the other, a girl with two buns and a boy with his hair in a ponytail and his eyes signifying his spot as a Hyuuga.

Naruto and his teammates paid them no mind as they weren't exactly there for them.

Naruto had just about finished a whole bowl of rice when team 8 entered the restaurant. Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Abuarme, Sakura Haruno and their sensei, Kurenai Yuhi.

Kiba was the first to notice them and started to laugh. "If it isn't team 7! Oh, and Naruto."

Naruto stopped the slurp of his noodles with an annoyed expression. "I wouldn't go there if I were you dog breath."

Sasuke had a similar look. "Yeah mutt, shut your ass up or get to a booth."

Kiba scowled. "Oh, and what are you two gonna do about it. Fight me? I've gotten way stronger since you last saw me and I bet I could best yo-OW!"

Sakura's fist found its way to the top of Kiba's head. She proceeded to pull his ear and yell:

"Let's go Kiba!"

She pulled Kiba into the booth behind team 7, his nin-dog, Akamaru, yipping and trailing behind. Sakura's expression changed completely to that of tenaciousness as she locked eyes with her rival. Ino didn't back down to the challenge, unfaltering to Sakura's stare.

Kurenai sighed and shook her head as she and Shino made they're way over to their booth. " _Kiba is such a dick._ "

Naruto ignored the other team and went back to his feast. Ino sweatdropped and wondered how his mindset could be so fast-tracked.

A few minutes later, team 10 entered the restaurant. Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, Hinata Hyuuga and their sensei Asuma Sarutobi.

Naruto looked up for a split second and locked eyes with Hinata. The pupil-less girl gasped and hid behind Asuma, her face becoming red.

" _Weird girl._ " Naruto thought. He greeted Shikamaru and Choji, both of them giving a "yo" before walking to the booth in front of team 7.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the entrance of another team. " _So much people, I bet it'll just get louder._ "

Naruto had finished his feast and got up out of the booth. "Man, that was good! Hey, Choji," He turned towards the brown-haired boy, "Your family is real good at making food. I just wished they made ramen."

Choji laughed in between chews of his food. This caught the attention of Kiba, who was looking for something to heckle.

"Yeah Choji, I can see why you're always eating. Yo-Ouch!" He nursed the second lump on his head that had come from another of Sakura's punches.

"Can you ever keep your damn mouth shut?!"

Naruto was hysterical as he watched the scene. Choji just shrugged and ignored Kiba's comments because the more you talk, the less you eat.

Kiba scowled and got up to engage Naruto. "Stop laughing, you dumbass, I'll mop the floor with your ass!"

Naruto just howled even louder at Kiba. Kiba could even here some snickering from team 7 and team 10. His scowl deepened as he stomped his foot forward. "I'm serious! With the training that Kurenai-sensei gave me and my team, I bet I could destroy all you guys in a 1v1, even Sasuke!"

Naruto couldn't take the kid seriously. Especially with the two lumps on his head that poked through the hood of his hoodie.

"You... Think we... Haven't been training... Too, you mutt? As far as I know... That attitude of yours... Could get you killed."

Sakura got up and pulled Kiba by his ear. "Yeah Kiba, no doubt Kurenai-sensei is a good teacher but the other Genin look like they haven't been slacking."

She cocked back a fist and knocked it against Kiba's head again. "And don't you ever say you can beat my Sasuke-Kun!"

All the other Genin sweatdropped as Kiba moaned and groaned as he was dragged back to his seat.

Naruto got up from the ground and was about to sit down again when he felt a tap at his shoulder. When he turned around, he was met with two bushy eyebrows. He yelped in concern but the spandex-wearing kid didn't even flinch.

"I overheard your conversation and I think you are a great example of youth!"

The kid gave him a thumbs up and Naruto laughed in embarrassment. " _What the hell is this weirdo talking about._ "

"Lee, we're leaving!"

The spandex bushy brows, who apparently was named Lee, averted his attention to his bun-haired teammate that stood at the exit.

"Okie Dokie, Tenten," He averted his attention to Naruto, "Naruto is it?" Naruto nodded. "Next time we meet, I challenge you to a match! You and that Sasuke fellow!"

He ran past Naruto and exited the restaurant. Sasuke opened an eye to take a look at the kid who challenged him. " _Hmph, whatever._ "

Naruto just stood there, wondering what the hell just happened. The other Genin sweatdropped as they watched the display. Naruto sat back down and started a conversation with Ino.

Kakashi didn't pay any attention to the room is, instead, using the time to catch up on his smut. Asuma popped a cigarette in his mouth, lit it, and puffed out a large stream of smoke.

Kurenai took a whiff of the smell of a cigar. She got up quietly and made her way to Asuma. He looked up to see her and almost swallowed the cigar.

"Asuma Sarutobi, didn't we have a deal."

Asuma stammered and stuttered and couldn't get anything to form words.

"Or do you want me to enlighten you."

Asuma grimaced and took the cigar out of his mouth and put it on the cigar tray that was on the table.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru said as he was woken up from his sleep. "Can't you guys get a room."

Kurenai blushed and immediately made her way back to her team's booth. Hinata giggled at Asuma's expense.

Naruto, as dense as he was, asked a question aloud. "Are Kurenai and Asuma-sensei dating?"

The Genin became quiet and prayed that Naruto didn't actually just ask that. Well, everyone except for Kiba.

"Yup, definitely, I even overheard them talking about marriage," Kiba said bluntly. Kurenai blushed even harder. She excused herself and went into the girl's bathroom. Asuma facepalmed and made his way outside to smoke.

A tick appeared on Ino's head as she towered over Naruto. "You Baka! That's private info, your so fucking dense!"

She grabbed him by his hair and brought him outside. The other Genin turned their attention to the window as they saw Ino force Naruto to say sorry and then proceeded to beat his face into the ground.

She dragged him back and told him to apologize to Kurenai when she came back from the bathroom.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "I see. So Asuma and Kurenai aren't the only ones."

Ino grit her teeth and howled at Shikamaru. "Oh hell no Shika, you're not getting away with that one!"

Sasuke excused himself to use the bathroom when Kurenai came back. She told Naruto that it was okay to be curious but it wasn't okay to meddle in others' love lives.

On the left of Shikamaru, Hinata blushed at the thought of Ino and Naruto together. She was so flushed that she excused herself to the bathroom. She looked down the whole time and failed to notice as Sasuke walked in front of her. They collided and Hinata fell to the ground.

She locked eyes with the Uchiha and blushed even harder. " _So mesmerizi- No, I only like Naruto-Kun._ "

"Sorry Hinata, let me help you up."

He outstretched his hand and Hinata gladly took it. Her thoughts wandered off into... Other things as she touched the boy's hand. She got up quickly and went inside the bathroom.

"Sasuke's got a girlfriend!" Naruto howled. Sasuke showed a face of Indifference. "Shut up dobe, or I'll beat your ass even more than Ino did."

"Never again," Naruto whispered to himself in pain.

Kakashi closed his book and got up. "Team 7 we're leaving."

Naruto saddened. "Already, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi nodded and gestured for them to follow him. They said their goodbyes and made they're way outside.

"I hope you had fun," Kakashi said all of a sudden. He had the lead while his Genin trailed behind him.

"What do ya mean? Of course, we did," Naruto replied. He put his hands behind his back and laughed. "I can't wait to see how strong those guys are."

"You won't have to worry about waiting too much," Kakashi said. The Genin raised a brow.

"I suggest you watch out for that Lee kid. Team 9 is definitely going to be a formidable opponent."

Naruto was very confused. His teammates seemed to understand, however.

"Alright, stop with the hidden messages. What the hell is going on?"

Sasuke crossed his arms. "He means..."

"The Chunin Exams." Ino finished. Naruto blinked twice, his mouth wide open.

"EHHHHHH!"

Who did this guy think he was? Kill him and get his blood, that's cute.

Naruto met this kid named Konohamaru, who was the grandson of the Sandaime. When he first met him, Konohamaru was a spoiled brat who thought if he yelled out what he wanted, he would get it. Then, when Naruto met the kid's sensei, it started to click. Ebisu, the Jonin hired to train Konohamaru, treated the kid like a king. But what aggravated Naruto more was the fact that Ebisu didn't like him. Not because of the fox, Oh no, but because he was a 'bad influence'.

He taught that bastard a lesson with his Harem Jutsu. Now, Konohamaru wouldn't stop following him after Naruto taught him the Oiroke no Jutsu.

Today was the day before the Chunin Exams and Naruto knew all the villages participating were sending their Genin so Naruto wasn't surprised to see the sand Genin that stood in front of him while on his way to training with his team.

What surprised him was the fact that one of them, who had face marks, kept bitching about Konohamaru bumping into him. Naturally, Naruto protected his little buddy and when the guy was about to fight back, a redhead with a gourd on his back appeared on the tree behind the Sand Genin.

"Who's that bastard?" Sasuke muttered.

"Kankuro, if you touch him..." The redhead opened his eyes. "I'll kill you."

The now identified Kankuro stopped dead in his tracks. His face turned to horror as he turned and apologized. "Sorry, Gaara."

Gaara then pointed to Naruto. "You."

Naruto stood, unflinching.

"Mother wants your blood."

Naruto tensed as he reached for his gun. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and Ino reached for her sword.

Gaara jumped off the tree and walked off, Kankuro and the blond following after.

Naruto turned to Konohamaru that hid behind him the whole time. "Be careful from now on runt, this is no joke, make sure Ebisu is with you all the time."

Konohamaru nodded and ran off towards the Hokage Tower.

Team 7 walked up to the Chunin Exam building. Sasuke walked in with a smirk on his face, Ino with a smile, and Naruto with a grin, also playing with the new goggles that were on his face.

"This is it," Ino said. "Let's show em what we've got."

Ino and Sasuke also had a change in appearance for the occasion.

Sasuke wore a black, one-piece version of this usual attire with many small belts adorning his left arm and similar bands around both legs. His Shinobi sandals we're now black instead of blue.

Ino now wore a floral button-down shirt, blue capris, dark black gloves with a purple trim, and dark blue shinobi sandals. On her arms were metal arm guards and her katana was strapped to her back. Her hair now flowed freely down her back, barely going past her shoulder.

They walked confidently up the stairs, keeping their senses alert for any tricks. They reached the second floor where all the Genin were gathered and where a commotion was flaring.

" _What the hell's going on?_ " Team 7 thought as they made their way to the front.

"...hard. It's better to just weed out the weak ones before we start and keep them safe." Said one of the two Genin blocking the entrance. Sasuke laughed and put his hands in his pockets.

"That's a tempting offer but I'm gonna have to pass." He said. He nodded at his teammates and they walked up the stairs to the third floor.

"Ayyy! Where are ya going, eh? The exam is right here!" Said a random Ame nin. Naruto facepalmed and put up a hand seal.

"KAI"

The other Genin went into an uproar trying to figure out what illusion was cast upon them. It took about 20 seconds(Naruto laughed until he coughed) before a Konoha Genin pointed towards the number of the door.

"That says 201, earlier it said 301! 301 is where we're supposed to meet up!"

The Genin teams rushed upstairs to see team 7, 8, 9, and 10 of Konoha and a few other villages Genin gathered in room 301.

There were no desks, chairs, or even a chalkboard. It was an empty classroom. The students filled in, staying with their specific villages, not wanting to bring attention to themselves.

Team 7 was keeping to themselves, only talking to others when there was a need to. Out of the blue, a Konoha Genin approached them. He had long white hair that he put in a ponytail and wide round glasses. He wore a dark purple shirt with a high collar, a white under-shirt, and dark purple pants with a white cloth waistband.

"You guys sure made a bit of a ruckus. If you look around you, the other teams are taking note." He said. Naruto was about to question him before the guy just walked away.

What the man said was true. All around them, teams from other villages gave them strange looks and seemed wary of them.

Naruto surveyed the crowd for precaution. Didn't want anything to spring upon them.

 _POOF!_

A cloud of smoke, that indicated a shunshin, appeared at the front of the room. Everyone grabbed for their weapons but relaxed, well the Konoha Genin, as soon as they saw who it was.

Ibiki had a large, imposing figure, which he complemented with a rugged head and face covered with old wounds and scars. He wore a darker version of the standard uniform of the Intelligence Division, along with a black trench coat and gloves. Ibiki's head is covered by his forehead protector.

"Calm the hell down runts, I'm your instructor, Ibiki Morino!" He howled. "I'm cutting to the chase! Your first test is to get 3 secrets from three different people. Basically, information gathering. Of course, you can get secrets from your teammates."

Confusion was spread across the room.

"And Hajime!"

Each team took a section of the classroom for themselves. Sasuke immediately went to work by activating his Sharingan and placing a Genjutsu over his eyes.

Ino was getting ready to use her family jutsu but was stopped by Naruto. "They'll see your body slump and think something's wrong. We need to find some way for you not to be seen."

Sasuke chimed in. "I found a secret. That guy," he pointed at a brunette. "has a limp in his left leg."

Naruto smiled a little. "Okay, that's one. Ino, got any ideas?"

"If we could use some kind of Genjutsu over my body, then, unless there are some really good Genjutsu sensors here, it will show my body still moving."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "That's a complex one. Think you can do it?"

Ino thought for a minute. "Won't know till we try."

Ino ran through hand seals. She whispered:

 _Demonic Illusion: Torikkīna Me!_

Ino sighed. "If this works, then when I squat down, you should still see me standing."

In Naruto's eyes, Ino stood and said stuff for a few seconds but then stopped mid-speech and said:

"So did it work?"

Naruto nodded and continued to find some way to make himself useful.

Ino made her families signature seal. She huffed and focused.

 _Shinten Bunshin no Jutsu!_

Her body went slump.

Naruto scanned the other teams for anything that might have been useful. Earlier he channeled chakra through all his senses to give him a better overview of the room.

He observed all the Konoha teams. They all seemed to be doing fine. With his enhanced vision, Naruto could see kikachu bugs flying on other teams. " _That's really smart, Shino._ "

" _Looking... Looking... Loo-AHH!_ "

Naruto locked eyes with the Hyuuga boy from the restaurant. He had his byakugan activated and just stared at Naruto.

" _Creep._ "

Then Naruto hit realization.

" _Shit! He can see the Kyuubi's chakra!_

Ino looked around in the new body. From the information she gathered, the girl who she possessed was named Temari and her teammates were her brothers, Gaara and Kankuro.

Around her 'teammates', she tried to act as casual as normal, still trying to crack open some more info.

"So Temari, how should we approach the plan?" Kankuro said. Ino blinked twice.

"Hopefully it's not too dangerous." was all Ino could say. Kankuro looked at her weird.

"Temari, are you okay?" Kankuro asked. The redhead, Gaara, turned around to face her with an emotionless expression.

" _Crap! I gotta leave now._ "

She closed her eyes and internally yelled:

 _Release!_

Naruto seethed. The Hyuuga wouldn't stop pointing and looking at him. He was tempted to go over there and shove a kunai up his asshole. " _Comrade or not, he's annoying._ "

Sasuke continued to scan through the crowd. His Sharingan could only do so much, the only things it was doing for him was slowing time down and reading lips.

" _Damn it! Hopefully, Ino finds something cause I know I won't be able to find anything. The lip reading would have worked if all of these other Genin weren't so wary of spilling._ "

He looked to his left and saw the stir of Ino. (He and Naruto had broken the Genjutsu on their eyes.)

Sasuke and Naruto helped Ino get back up on her feet. She went into a coughing fit because possessing two people definitely took a toll on her body.

" _Just in time too,_ " Sasuke thought as he looked at the clock. " _The timer is about to go off._ "

Naruto quickly turned to his teammates. "We have a problem."

-  
"Times up brats!" Ibiki yelled. "Alphabetical order which means Amegakure is first."

The first team spoke. Their spokesperson was a girl with white hair.

"My teammate, Kazi, put h-"

"Wrong! Next team!"

The girl almost choked. She was about to speak but Ibiki halted her protest.

"If you speak again, you will be hurt and disqualified!"

She instantly piped down. This happened with a few other teams who decided to use their teammates' secrets. " _These idiots actually thought that they could just give away their comrades' secrets._ " Sasuke thought.

Then it was team nine's turn. " _Crap! What if they put the pieces together._ "

Tenten was the one to speak. "Our first secret is that the guy with the white hair and glasses is a mix between a medic-nin and a regular, fighting ninja. He always keeps his hands in his pockets, meaning that he needs to protect his hands and he has an aura of someone with good fighting experience. The second secret is the fact that that team over there," she pointed to the Sand Genin from earlier. "is hiding something huge."

The Suna Genin tried to hold back their anger and surprise. " _The hell! How did she find out._ "

"And our third," Naruto gulped as she turned to him. "is that Uzumaki Naruto has a red chakra in his stomach."

All of the Genin teams turned to look at him. Naruto gave them a sheepish smile and said:

"It's a bloodline?"

All the ninja except for the Konoha Genin shrugged. It wasn't that hard to find kids with bloodlines.

" _Troublesome. Red chakra? Bloodline? That's hard to believe, Naruto's an orphan._ " Shikamaru analyzed. He decided against bringing up the subject to Naruto, it seemed sensitive and it was too troublesome to deal with feelings.

The cycle kept on going with some teams getting eliminated. Then it was team 7's turn. Ino spoke:

"Our first secret is that the Ame nin over there has a limp in his leg."

Ibiki lifted an eyebrow. "Why would you consider this a secret."

This time Sasuke spoke. "This is the Chunin Exams. Naturally, to hide his disadvantage of movement, he put a Genjutsu over his leg. With my Sharingan, I broke the Genjutsu."

Ibiki nodded in understanding. "Continue."

Ino nodded. "Our second secret is that Temari of the Sand's father, the Kazekage, ordered assassinations on her brother Gaara because of something called Shukaku. This is true because I used my clan's jutsu to transfer my mind to Temari's and that's what I got."

Gaara scowled. " _Mother, no, not here. Later, blood will be spilled._ "

Temari and Kankuro's eyes widened. "So that's why you were acting weird," Kankuro whispered to Temari. "this exam is no joke."

Ibiki narrowed his eyes. " _So the sand does have a sealed tailed beast._ "

"Our third secret," Naruto tried to hold in his laughter. "Kiba pissed himself when he first saw Gaara."

The whole room sweatdropped while Kiba started shouting curses and "That's not true." while covering his midsection.

Naruto busted out laughing and pointed at Kiba. "C'mon Kiba, how can you mop the floor with anyone if you still piss your pants!"

Kiba growled and kept on his onslaught of curses. Akamaru stood behind him, whimpering and telling Kiba to stop.

Sakura whispered for Kiba to be quiet and when he failed to comply, she bashed his head with her fists, this time around her fist was covered in chakra.

"Enough! Next team!" Ibiki yelled.

All the rookies plus Team 9 passed the test. Two other Konoha teams passed along with the Suna Genin, four Sound teams, three Ame teams, three other Sand teams and a Kumo team. That meant that twelve teams had been eliminated.

"The teams that were about to expose their teammates are disqualified. Why? I didn't force you to say anything about your teammates. You chose the easy route which is always the most dangerous route for a ninja."

All the disqualified teams looked sad and broken by this realization. Ibiki then told them to leave the building and head back to their villages. He then turned to the remaining teams.

"Congrats runts," Naruto gave Ino a high five. "The next test will be in three-"

 _Crash!_

Everyone turned to look at the now smashed window. At the window sill was a Konoha Kunoichi.

" _Anko!_ " Hinata internally yelled. She shuddered at the pure sight of the woman in front of her. Anko took a short look at Hinata, causing to Hyuuga Heiress to falter under the gaze.

"Who in the red hell are you!?" Naruto exclaimed.

Anko was a fairly tall woman who was of a slender frame. She had light brown, pupil-less eyes. Her hair was violet and styled in a short, spiky, fanned-ponytail. She wore a fitted mesh body suit that covered her from her neck down to her thighs. Over this, she wore a tan overcoat with a purple in-seam and a pocket on each side, a dark orange mini-skirt, a dark blue belt, and pale grey shin guards. She also wore a small pendant that looks like a snake fang and a wristwatch.

"Ibiki, what the hell! There are like 5,000 kids in this room!" she shouted, completely ignoring Naruto.

Ibiki scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. "This year's Genin are pretty good."

His smile disappeared as he started the next sentence. "But don't worry, at least half of them will be knocked out by the end of the second test."

The atmosphere tensed.

" _Half of us? That means about 9 teams at most are going to get to the last test!_ " Sasuke grimaced.

"Don't worry guys, our teamwork should get us past the test," Naruto whispered. Ino sighed and facepalmed. "Naruto, we're not worrying about our teamwork, we're worrying about what the point of the second test is going to be. If half of us is going to be gone, the second test should be super difficult."

Naruto nodded and turned his head back to the woman at the window.

"I am the sexy and amazing proctor of the second exam, Anko Mitarashi!"

Naruto was getting frustrated. "Get to the point bitch!"

Anko stared at him for a second and smirked. "To get to the second exam, follow me!"

She proceeded to leap onto the field she came from. All the Genin wasted no time in following her out the window.

The rest of the teams stood in front of a huge metal gate that seemed to be the entrance of a forest. At the opened entrance stood Anko.

"Training Ground 44," Naruto said aloud. His teammates gave him a peculiar expression.

"How do you know what this is Naruto?" Sasuke asked.

"Don't worry about it," Naruto said, not even sparing Sasuke a glance. " let's focus on the test."

Sasuke nodded and narrowed his eyes at what he saw in the distance.

 _CLANG!_

Sasuke knocked the kunai that swiftly approached Naruto's face away. Naruto quickly grabbed his gun and pointed it at the direction of the launcher.

Anko walked up to them slowly with a sadistic smirk on her face. "It was a joke man, all I wanted was your blood."

" _What's with people and blood!_ " Naruto thought. Ino reached for her sword and held her ground.

"Don't make me pop a bullet through your head bitch!" Naruto barked. Anko backed off, the smile still on her face. All the other Genin stopped to watch the spectacle. One in particular, that Naruto didn't recall ever seeing, put a hand on Anko's shoulder.

"Now now, let'ssss not get ahead of oursselvess." the snake looking woman said. Anko tensed and horror filled up her insides. " _It can't be."_

She slapped the hand away and sternly walked off. Team 7 sheathed their weapons and waited for Anko's instruction.

"This huge forest is Training Ground 44 or what Chunin and Jonin like to call it, the Forest of Death!" Anko started. She took out two scrolls from her pocket. "This," she held up the blue scroll. "is the earth scroll and this," she held up the white scroll. "is the heaven scroll."

"Each team will get one scroll. The purpose of this test is not only to tax every survival instinct you have but to also give us an idea of how well you'll operate in these kinds of missions outside your villages."

"In order to pass, each team will need to have one of each type of scroll and get to the tower that is ten kilometers from here. But of course." Anko smirked. "In order to do that, you have to fight other teams."

A few Genin started to talk amongst themselves.

"You're also not allowed to open the scrolls until you get to the tower," Anko added.

"Are we gonna die." One said. Anko looked like she was thinking as she stroked her chin. "...Let me see." She put down her hand. "It depends on if you're strong enough!"

"So, some of us will die," Naruto whispered. "I'll make sure that we aren't one of em', ya hear," Naruto said to no one in particular. Ino stared at him for a few seconds with a look of understanding and determination. " _I won't let anything happen to my friends. Especially you, Naruto._ "

Naruto turned and made eye contact with Ino. They both looked away quickly, trying to hide their blushes. Sasuke shook his head and laughed. " _Weirdos._ "

"Come and get your scrolls! Alphabetical order!" Anko suddenly yelled. All the Genin lined up. "Oh, and one last thing," Anko started.

"Try to avoid the man-eating beast and poisonous plants. Oh and don't die!"

"EHHHHHHHHHH!"

Team 7 stood on a tree branch as they formulated a plan. Naruto had spread his clones in different areas for perimeter defense and to alert them of any enemies.

"First off, we'll need a password in case we are somehow split up." Sasuke began. "The password is,"

"It is important for a shinobi to know the right time. The time when an enemy is tired and drops his guard." Sasuke stopped. "That's it."

Ino nodded and Naruto scratched his head. "Could you say it again?"

"Nope."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and glanced to his left. "Take care of it," Sasuke whispered. Naruto nodded and took out a kunai. He threw it up to the air and watched as it collided with an object that exploded and emitted smoke.

Ino drew her katana and leaped up in the air to engage their attacker. His headband indicated his position as an Amegakure ninja. His kunai and her sword clashed in mid-air.

"A feisty one, I see! I guess I can pla-Ugh!"

Ino kicked the assassin and went through hand seals. "Instead of talking, just fight you bastard!"

 _Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu!_

The torrent of water hit straight into the man and he flew back even farther than Ino kicked him, back-first into a large tree. He got up but was instantly bombarded with five Naruto clones kicking him into the sky.

"Ahhhhhhh!" he yelled while ascending. His face was met with Sasuke foot and he started to descend. The Ame nin hit the ground harshly while causing a small dust cloud to form. When the dust dissipated, in a small crater was the now unconscious Ame nin.

Sasuke hopped down to the crater cautiously. He made sure to keep a kunai at the ninja's throat while he checked all his pockets for a scroll.

He hopped out of the crater, shaking his head. "No scroll. His teammates probably have it."

Ino sheathed her sword and they were off.

 _Sand Coffin!_

Gaara yelled then put up his right hand. Sand from his large gourd wrapped around the rain ninja and enclosed him in a cluster of sand, with only his head, arms and legs sticking out. The coffin of sand flew up in the air before coming to a halt. Gaara looked very unamused then closed his hand.

 _Sand Burial!_

The sand combusted along with the man inside of it. The sand fell back to the ground, the body of the rain ninja not even present. His teammates watched bewildered and horrified at the sight. One of them broke out of their stupor and hesitantly took out their heaven scroll.

"If its the scroll you want, take it! Just please don't hurt us!"

Gaara closed his eyes as the scroll rolled over to Kankuro. Without even opening his eyes, his sand wrapped around the remaining nin.

"No, please! We beg!"

Gaara opened his eyes and the sand combusted. The jinchuriki shook his head and gazed ahead. "That's not enough, Mother needs more."

Temari put a hand on his shoulder. "Please Gaara, you've done enough. We have the scroll so let's go."

Gaara didn't respond and raised his hand to the left.

"Hinata, Choji, we gotta go." Shikamaru urgently said. Hinata nodded reluctantly and Choji gave an affirmative. Gaara looked in their direction and looked just about ready to Sand Coffin their asses.

Shikamaru got up from his position on the floor and crouched. He crawled quietly while motioning for Hinata and Choji to follow him. Choji followed close behind and made sure to keep Hinata close to him.

The Nara and Akimichi heard a silent thud and looked back to see Hinata lunging for Choji's hand as sand from the ground grappled her leg.

"Hinata!" Choji yelled as he grabbed Hinata's hand. She punched the sand repeatedly, hoping for it to let go, yelping and crying for freedom. Shikamaru grabbed a kunai and started hacking at the sand. From the clearing where they saw Gaara, they could hear the voice of Temari and Kankuro asking him to stop.

" _Please, for the sake of Hinata's life, Stop!_ " Shikamaru internally yelled and hoped. The sand didn't cave into Choji and Shikamaru's attempts, however, and continued flowing through Hinata's body.

"Gaara stop!" Kankuro yelled. "Listen to your big brother when he's talking to you!"

Gaara stared into Kankuro's eyes and didn't bat an eyelid. "I will not hesitate to kill you too, Kankuro."

Kankuro flinched and backed up. " _Damn it Gaara!_ "

Temari intervened, holding her hand to her heart. "Gaara, for your sister, please stop." Gaara stared at Temari, her determined look not faltering. They stayed like this for a few seconds before he put down his hands. "Fine. Let's go."

Gaara jumped onto a tree branch and made way for the tower, Temari and a still shaken Kankuro close behind.

"Hinata, are you okay." Choji calmly asked. He put a hand on her shoulder and waited for her reply.

"Y-yes, I-I'm okay. T-Thank y-you for a-asking." She half-heartedly replied. She shivered from head to toe as they sat in the small clearing a few yards away from the incident. The sand had suddenly stopped midway through encasing Hinata and Shikamaru wasted no time to carry Hinata all the way to where they are now, now stopping to take a break.

Shikamaru looked up at the sky, seeing the sudden appearance of the moon. "It's getting dark guys. We have to stay here for the night which means," He sighed and wiped a cold sweat from his brow. "night watches, troublesome."

Choji put his hand up and spoke up. "I can take the first watch."

Shikamaru nodded and said. "I'll take the second watch. You," He pointed at Hinata. "Hinata will rest the whole night to recover."

Hinata shook her head and peered into Shikamaru's eyes. "I refuse to s-sleep w-while you guys are l-losing sleep b-because of me."

Her gaze, Shikamaru noticed, looked very different from her usual demeanor. "Hinata," He put both his hands on her shoulder. "you almost died. I promise that us losing sleep to protect is well worth the risk."

The Hyuuga heiress smiled slightly at the response. "Shikamaru... Thank you."

The Nara got up and dusted himself off. He held out his hand for Hinata to take. "No prob, now help me set some traps. You as well Choji."

Sasuke hid under the bushes, separate from his team. A huge gust of wind blew them away, causing them to split up in different directions. He now had scratches that formed from his bad impact with the ground.

Just then he heard the rustle of grass behind him. He jumped up and threw a kunai as fast as he could. The person quickly countered the kunai with their sword. As he took in the appearance of the ninja, he realized it was just Ino. However...

"Password." He simply said.

"It is important for a shinobi to know the right time. The time when an enemy is tired and drops his guard."

Sasuke nodded and turned around towards the direction the wind came from. Out from a bush came Naruto who looked very tired.

"I found you! Are you guys okay?!"

Sasuke dug into his kunai pouch discreetly. Something was fishy about his behavior. "Password."

Naruto nodded and complied. "It is important for a shinobi to know the right time. The time when an enemy is tired and drops his guard."

That confirmed it. Sasuke threw a kunai and watched as 'Naruto' dodged. "Sasuke what the hell!"

Sasuke responded by taking out his new signature kunai, Ino as well taking out her Katana. "Naruto didn't remember the password."

The anger on the face of the fake turned into a sadistic smile. "So you noticed. You certainly are tricky, SSSauske!"

 _POOF!_

The fake let go of the Henge and smoke covered the area. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and yelled:

"Formation 52!"

Ino instinctively jumped in the air and threw five shurikens. She wove through hand seals as Sasuke did the same.

 _Team Formation: Sutōmuburetto no Jutsu!_

Ino performed her water bullet technique and Sasuke his lightning ball technique. The two Jutsu combined to form a water bullet encased in lightning.

The attack went through the middle of the smoke and caused a small explosion. Sasuke gawked at the sight of the survivor and signaled for a new plan.

"Fall back!"

"Ugh... What happened."

Naruto got up slowly and carefully, making sure to be wary of his surroundings.

"Where's Sasuke and Ino-chan."

Then, he heard the sound of a tree falling. He looked in his general direction and saw...

"A huge bitch-ass snake!"

He jumped up as the gigantic snake lunged at him. He landed on its body and started to shoot it. The bullets didn't even go through its skin, getting stuck in its scales. He withdrew the guns as the snake started to move around. He jumped off and landed on a tree branch. The snake noticed where he landed and lunged at him again. Naruto ran through hand seals.

 _Chakra Dangan!_

The pure ball of chakra exploded atop the snakes head, halting its advances towards Naruto. Channeling wind chakra to his kunai, Naruto jumped off the branch and stabbed the snake cleanly through its head. He dug it in as deep as he could before leaping away for safety. The snake thrashed around for a few seconds before finally dying.

"Stupid bitch-ass snake," Naruto muttered to himself. "now to find Sasuke and Ino."

Sasuke dodged a strike to his face and tried to knee his attacker. The attacker easily dodged the knee and kicked Sasuke on the side of his head, sending Sasuke flying.

"You are quite amusing, Sssssasuke."

Then the nin was engaged by Ino, who hacked, slashed, thrust, anything she could do to injure the assailant.

The Grass nin barely looked amused as she parried all of Ino's strikes with her kunai. One thrust was able to past her defense, however, causing a small wound to open on her left cheek. The nin seemed to have had enough as she suddenly overpowered Ino, causing the blond to stagger. With her new advantage, the Grass nin punched Ino in the gut, grabbed her arm, and threw her to the left.

 _Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!_

She dodged the huge fireball the sped past her. In mid-air she was engaged by Sasuke, a kunai drawn and his Sharingan flaring, giving him a look of a killer.

Sasuke slashed at the nin's throat but was blocked by her own kunai. He took a swing at her head but the nin caught it with her other hand. Sasuke pushed as hard as he could but the nin was simply stronger than him.

Suddenly, Sasuke put both his feet on the nin's stomach and pushed off. Using the leverage, he gained distance from the nin who landed a few hundred feet away. He could see Ino a few feet away from him, getting up to her feet. He locked eyes with her and nodded, she replied with a thumbs up.

"OHHHHH, SSSSSSasuke!"

They were immediately on guard as they saw the snake-like woman slithering around the trees, fastly approaching their location.

"Hey, faggot!"

The Grass nin stopped her pursuit and snarled at the sight of the Uzumaki. He stood on one branch, his torn haori flowing in the wind.

"I forgot the password!"


	11. Sorry

Guys! I'm sorry there hasn't been an update but I've really been stuck on Amino. It's a great app that allows you to talk about Naruto or anything that you'd like. Please I beg of you, join these amino. My name on the first one is Nikō Akuma and on the second, Xarui. Please download the app.[This isn't sponsored]

/c/RebornShinobi

/c/MyHeroAcade2487

Sorry Guys, but I will be discontinuing this story. If I ever pick it back up, I will remaster it and make it better. Thank you for reading and please, support the two amino up there.


End file.
